Why?
by THIS-IS-NOT-SPARTA
Summary: HighschoolAU in which Matthew is alone except for his idiot brother and the homophobic bully.. but who just bought the house opposite his? How could life change so much just by adding a Frenchmen, German,Spaniard and Prussian? And what secrets could such an unlikely group hold? Rating: Self-harm boyxboy past abuse
1. Forever Alone, eh?

**Ahoy! This has been planned for aaages! Rated T for now but rating might go up! (I will warn if/when it does) Hope you like it! **

**Danny = Cuba (Danny was going to be an OC but I hate OC's so I gave him a character) AU and highschool... yeah...**

**Warning: Self-harm, Homophobia, BoyXBoy, Multiple pairings... **

**Oh and if I owned Hetalia I would make a spin-off show just about Gilbird and Pierre II and their adventures, in which I would have a tense and dramatic storyline in which the fate of Pierre no. 1 would be revealed...**

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><p>Matthew sighed, his ribs aching from having been shoved about by the dense crowd of people rushing to leave the classroom to go to lunch and, because he was practically invisible he had been thrown about like a ragdoll amongst the throng of people. Sometimes he hated that no one could see him, it could be a real pain in the ass.<p>

"HEY FAGGOT!" _Oh joy._ Matthew sighed again. It was just his luck to be completely invisible to everyone…except the school bully.

He carried on walking, pretending not to have heard when he felt pain in his scalp as his head was pulled back to an angle which was painful in itself. Matthew gripped at his hair to alleviate the pressure. "Don't pretend like you didn't hear me faggot." His attacker hissed in his ear.

"Danny, please." He whimpered, the angle made it difficult for him to breathe.

The boy, Danny, threw his plaything to the ground and laughed as his favourite toy began to choke at being reunited with oxygen. The Canadian boy looked up from the ground wondering if anyone would help but found the previously busy corridor to be conveniently empty. _Because that isn't suspicious. No one ever goes against the school bully anyway. _Said tormentor then grabbed at the smaller blonde's clothes and pulled him to his feet.

"Do you know what I hate?" He whispered in the smaller boy's ear. "I hate dirty little queers, like you." Matthew could see his own bright violet eyes alight with fear behind half-framed glasses reflected in the dark brown irises of his attacker. _When did I start shaking?_ The Canadian wondered as he felt himself tremble. On getting no response from his toy, Danny snarled and punched Matthew in the stomach and muttered the word "Disgusting," repeatedly as he left.

Matthew doubled over in pain and slid to the ground, a lone tear made its arduous journey down the Canadian's softly featured face. It crept out of blue, almost purple eyes and under his glasses and down over red cheeks tinted with pain where it continued until it dripped off his creators jaw where it proceeded to free-fall and land silently on the blonde's red maple-leaf hoodie where it was soon joined by many of its companions as the boy clutched his abdomen in pain, gasping slightly. A single word left his chapped lips,

"Why?"

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><p>Matthew stood at the front door to his house, still clutching his throbbing stomach. It was a nice house, white walls and 2 floors with an attic in a reasonably quiet neighbourhood. (Small white fences framing a green front gardens and the like) He had left school early as after his run-in with Danny he couldn't face double gym lessons so he just walked out of school. <em>Not like anyone would notice anyway…<em>

He felt in his pockets for the key to his home, his sanctuary…okay maybe exaggerating, but damn it there was pancake mix and maple syrup in there!

He groaned when he remembered that Alfred had "borrowed" (Forcibly removed) his key that morning as he had forgotten his and Matthew usually stayed after school for "Reading club". Which was a lie, such a club didn't even exist at their school but Danny usually found Matthew after school and walking home with bruises was hard work and slow-going. But as long as Alfred didn't find out about his tormentor he didn't feel so guilty about lying.

He had his reasons for not telling Alfred, mainly because his twin had his own problems with being helplessly in love with a boy who acted like he hated him (though everyone except Alfred knew the unapproachable punk felt the same way he did) and spent most of his time moping when he thought no one could see or hear him.

Back to his current predicament, Matthew tried to remember which rock they kept outside the front door was the fake one that held the spare key. He looked around and noticed that the house opposite his had finally been purchased. People were put off it because of its appearance, with a long front garden it stood tall and solitary. _Like a house from one of those horror movies Al cries at after watching_. Shaking his head of his thoughts, _I need to stop day-dreaming…_ and certain no-one was watching, Matthew started turning over rocks (bending cautiously to avoid increasing his abdominal pain) until he found the one he was looking for with the open-able flap underneath. He let himself into the house he shared with his brother (his parents worked away from home somewhere in Europe, the brothers neither knew nor cared where exactly) and went into the kitchen to make himself pancakes which he drowned in maple syrup and ate on the living-room sofa in pensive thought.

"Why did it have to turn out like this?" He wondered aloud. His whole life had been lived where no one noticed him, and when he had begged for years that someone would, along came Danny who came into his life aged 14. A long-haired Cuban boy who Matthew had developed a crush on almost as soon as he saw him. At first they had been best friends, then, after Matthew had tried to kiss him everything changed. At first the Cuban had ignored the smaller blonde and then after he had become friends with the jocks in the school the bullying began. It started with names then just escalated to what it was today.

The blonde let out a breath he didn't know he had been holding and whispered "forever alone, eh?" before falling into a light sleep.

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><p><strong>Sooooo? Any thoughts? Please tell me what you think..? Constructive criticism would be awesome as well as initial points etc. Even random abuse would be okay if you're saying WHAT you don't like instead of just "Uhhh hate it get it off my life!" you said "Uhhh hate it get this off my life BECAUSE..." etc... yeah.<strong>

~Oresama


	2. So… new neighbours, eh Al?

**And I'm back! Gott this chapter was so hard to do D: my mind decided it wanted to write a whole chapter about Alfred and Arthur but I was like NO! But I needed to do a bit in Al's perspective just to get the ideas going cause the plot for this says the same but my mind was like all "OMG YOU SHOULD DO THIS INSTEAD!" and It was hard to keep it on track... might do a side story focusing on the other pairings in this... maybe... And tbh I rather like the idea of a story about Gilbird and Pierre II xD :')**

**If I owned Hetalia I would have a lot more Prussia in there and I would include a scene where the countries play hockey against Canada xD :') **

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><p>Alfred pretended to proof-read the creative writing piece he had written, holding it in front of his face so he had an excuse to occasionally check out the British boy sitting opposite him without getting caught. Or so he thought.<p>

"What the hell are you looking at?" The harsh lilt of an angry Brit's accent brought him out of his fantasies. Alfred blushed considerably while failing to come up with a response. "I, uhm, I just…"

"Just what Alfred?" The Englishman responded irritably.

_He knows my name! _His mind shouted at him like he was a 12 year old girl.

"I…I just….thought we could check each other's work?" He mentally gave himself a pat on the back for that one. _Fast thinking Al._ Arthur looked confused for a moment as the anger ebbed from his face. "I suppose it would be a good idea to get a second opinion, after all we are biased checking our own work…. Fine. Hand yours over then." He conceded, offering over his own work.

Alfred took the paper from the teen opposite himself. _He's wearing nail polish…black nail polish. Kinda girly right? ….Is it weird that I think it's hot? _ He mentally slapped himself when he realised he was staring again and tried not to laugh at the cute blush that had formed on the others' face. He pushed his own papers towards Arthur and suppressed the inner turmoil inside. _Why do I get so embarrassed when I talk to him? Why do I think he's so cute? Why do I just want to kiss his soft-looking lips? Bite down on his lip piercing…. Run my hands over his…_ "Alfred I hope you aren't plagiarising another's work." The stern literacy teacher came over, bleach-blonde hair scraped back into a high ponytail. Her knee-high black PVC boots creaking as she navigated closer towards him with extreme difficulty due to her too-short and too-tight black miniskirt. Complete with a hot-pink sweater. She was the kind of teacher he would be fantasising about at night if he wasn't too busy fantasising over the cute Austrian music teacher with the hot ass…Mr Edelstein was it? Or (as is more likely) the cute British punk he had a long-time crush on.

Alfred had been too busy in his thoughts to notice she was waiting for a response, but thankfully Arthur stepped in. "We're proof reading each-others work as we are both biased with our own." He said simply, daring her to argue against him. Ever since Arthur had first started at their school he had argued with that particular teacher about pretty everything, from writers to uniform.

"_I thought this was 'Land of the Free' not 'Land of Liberty __**except **__piercings and nail-varnish." _

The teacher, Ms Milton, raised one over-plucked eyebrow in anticipation. "Pray tell Arthur, what problems have you found with Alfred's work then?" She asked in her gratingly high-pitched tone of voice.

The Englishman sighed. "Well, for a start its short, only three quarters of a page is not enough to develop a plot." Alfred gulped as his work was critiqued, flicking through the pages of work Arthur had handed him. "Also, in this Alfred is describing someone but hasn't said anything about them at all. He's depicted himself as a hero that saves some form of victim or damsel…but it says 'he' and that's pretty much all he says in terms of identifying this character other then he swears a lot and has a bad attitude." The American blushed at the words, thankful for his lack of adjectives else Arthur may have realised that he himself was the "damsel" as he had put it.

"Alfred, though there is nothing wrong with a bit of mystery in your work you might want to consider the comments other people have given you if you want a good grade." The teacher addressed him, conveniently not mentioning Arthur's name. "Well, select some problems with Arthur's work, just the main points will do as we don't have long left of the lesson." Arthur growled at this and glared at Alfred, daring him to critique the work he held in his hands.

"Well, I…I don't really know what to say…." He laughed awkwardly, well aware of the glared he was receiving from both the teacher and the punkish Brit but he was still kind-of offended by the comments he received on his own work so he felt a little cocky in his critique. "The things he described are, like, completely unrealistic and…uh I thought this was supposed to be based on our own experiences? And…He spelt 'colour' wrong"

"What? You git!" Arthur rose from his seat and began shouting indignantly. "That's a load of bollocks! Yours was about a super-hero saving the day! Who says mine isn't realistic to me? And, colour is supposed to have a "u" in it you wanker!"

"It was not bollocks! Who says I don't save people? I never said super-hero it was just a hero! How is flying green rabbits and a pirate riding a unicorn realistic? Unless you spend half your time on drugs you are the one speaking balls! And colour is so wrong! Since when did it ever have a U in-"

"SINCE BRITAIN FUCKING INVENTED IT, THAT'S WHEN-"

A loud bang silenced the two arguing as the teacher slammed a ruler against the table. "YOU ARE BOTH IN DETENTION AFTER SCHOOL TODAY. I WILL NOT TOLERATE SWEARING IN MY LESSON!" The teacher screeched. "You can also spend the rest of the lesson else-where. Get out of my classroom."

The two boys stared in shock, the anger-induced flushes in their faces dying down to a pinkish hue as they both slowly packed away their belongings and left the classroom, muttering an apology as they left.

Alfred opened the door to his home using the key he had stolen from his brother earlier that day. He had just got in from the most amazing detention ever. "Maattieeee! I'm home bruh!" He called happily, running into the living room to find his brother asleep on the sofa cuddling his soft polar bear toy. "MATT!" He yelled excitedly, bounding up to his brother like a puppy. He shook his brother awake who shot up with the yell of "MAPLE!"

Mathew was fast asleep on the sofa when his idiotic twin grabbed him and shook him awake. As soon as he woke up all he felt was pain over his torso and scalp. "MAPLE!" He yelled and gasped as pain surged through his body. "Alfred? What….the hell?" he muttered, tears in his eyes.

"Mattie? Bro you okay?" He asked, his previous joy replaced with concern.

"I'm fine Al, just surprised me is al. What is it?" Matthew replied quietly.

"Guess what Matt! Arthur kissed me! Like actually properly kissed. It was so awesome!" And so Matthew sat through Alfred's ramblings of how in detention he and Arthur got in some massive fight about Arthur's eyebrows and ended up fighting then kissing. By the end of the tale Alfred was nearly hyperventilating and Matthew had a confusion induced headache.

Alfred's ramblings were cut short by the sounds of commotion outside.

"GOTT VERDAMMT GILBERT I TOLD YOU TO HOLD THE DOGS!" They heard coming from outside. Just as they were about to investigate a couple of German shepherd dogs came bounding into their house. Matthew sat up on the sofa delicately as one of the dogs came over to sniff him and the other began to lick Alfred's face. "Guess I forgot to shut the door on my way in!" Alfred laughed as the dog licked his cheek.

"Mein Gott I apologise for this, mein bruder was supposed to be holding them but he didn't and they got away…" A burly blonde German man came into the house and grabbed the dogs by their collars and pulled them away from Alfred and Matthew. _Wow he looks really strong!_ Matthew thought at the commanding looking German in a black tank-top and camouflage combat trousers.

"It's okay, don't worry about it!" Alfred laughed and Matthew just smiled.

"West! You in here?" Another German accent came from outside the house and then the strangest man Matthew had ever seen walked in. His hair was silvery-white and his eyes were like blood. He was dressed in black skinny-jeans and a baggy faded grey T-shirt with a skull design on the front.

"Hey! There you are West. Hallo doggies! Bad doggies! You don't run away from Uncle Gil m'kay!" He mock scalded them to which the blonde German did not look impressed. "Bruder must you act like a child all the time? Anyway, I apologise for this. We just moved into the house opposite. If you need anything you can come round any time." He addressed Alfred and Matthew once more before leaving the house, the other German decided to stay and introduce himself.

"I am the awesome Gilbert Beilschmidt! Sorry about mein little bruder, he's such a stiff! He's Ludwig, by the way. As you can see I got all the awesome genes in our family." He concluded arrogantly, hands on his hips dramatically. As he looked at the two brothers he noticed they looked similar, but the one with the longer hair was definitely cuter.

The brothers were in a mixed state of confusion and shock. "He's younger then you?" Asked Alfred

"Yeah….I know he's like a freaking tank. I swear all he ever does is exercise and read. So unawesome." Gilbert sighed.

"…Are you a Vampire?" Alfred asked at which Matthew blanched and Gilbert laughed.

"Kesesesese! Nope, I just have very little skin pigment and my eyes have some weird genetic defect that makes them this colour." _Was that a laugh? This guy is really arrogant. And loud… but still, he's interesting… and he can see me! Which is something, right…? _Matthew thought, nervously clutching Kumajiro to his chest.

There was a loud crash from outside followed by rapid swearing in French.

"Shit, I gotta go! Nice meeting you guys! Come round later when, ya'know we have furniture and food!" He headed out the door, shutting it on his way out. "FRANCIS IF THAT WAS THE TV I SWEAR TO GOTT…!"

"So… new neighbours, eh Al?" Matthew laughed quietly. "We should do something nice to welcome them to the neighbourhood. Make them dinner or something?" Alfred nodded. _Maybe we could make pancakes…_

"Hey, I know! We should make them pancakes! Everyone loves pancakes!" Matthew nodded in agreement, twin telepathy proven again it seems.

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><p><strong>GYAH! Filler chapter is bad. Basically felt ill but needed to write SOMETHING! ...and this came out.<strong>

**Also, the teacher? based on a real teacher. My old English teacher. **

**She used to dress like a hooker every lesson, it was awkward as hell. Also, I was kinda like Arthur in this. She hated me cause I looked kinda punk-rock with eyeliner and black trousers that looked like skinny jeans but not enough for me to get sent home for wearing them... yeah.**

**We argued about which writer was the best and why... I still believe Arthur Conan Doyle is the best EVER!**

**ANYWAAAY... this was to introduce characters and try to get plot moving... it turned out... well I don't like it.**

**But it's not my decision, it's yours. So, same rules. If you hate it, tell me why so I can improve it Bitte? **

**Oh yeah! **

**Mein Gott - My God**

**Gott Verdammt - God Damn**

**Bruder - Brother**

**Reviewers get hugs from flying mint bunny! **

**...OMG THE ADVENTURES OF GILBIRD, PIERRE II AND FLYING MINT BUNNY! :D I must write this one day...**


	3. Are you a friend of Alfred's?

**Ahoy! Managed to get this done :D Uhh you know the drill! Me no own!**

**Everyone who's read so far or reviewed or added to story subscribe/favourites, you are all kick-ass awesome!**

**Warning: Self-harm **

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><p>"Hey, I know! We should make them pancakes! Everyone loves pancakes!" Matthew nodded in agreement with his twin.<p>

"Yeah, but we should let them settle in a bit first. Plus, I want a shower." Matthew said as he attempted to stand up from the sofa without showing his pain.

"Matt you okay?" Alfred asked as he saw his twin trying to walk to the bathroom almost doubled over. The weak sound of retching meeting his ears.

Matthew's eyes watered as he waddled across the room. "Fine Al, just aching from falling asleep on the sofa." He said weakly. Alfred didn't buy it but he knew his twin was ridiculously stubborn when he wanted to be so questioning him would be pointless and just piss them both off.

Matthew managed to open the bathroom door and shuffle into the room. His stomach felt like it had a blade inserted into it whenever he tried to move and his scalp was still burning. He decided a shower would help a bit so he carefully stripped off, not looking at himself as he did so, turned on the shower and stepped under the spray of water after putting his glasses on the side next to the sink.

After a while of just standing and letting himself get sprayed with the shower the pain began to subside enough for him to wash himself. He started by washing his hair and conditioning it, then picked up the soap and gently cleaned himself. He went to wash his arms and sighed as he felt all the little ridges and bumps from scabs and scars accumulated over the years. Every time he was reminded of his …habit… he felt guilt start to overwhelm him at the promise he had made to his brother. Alfred had once walked in while Matthew had his hoodie off and had seen the cuts. After a rather heated argument between them and a lot of tears Alfred made Matthew promise that he wouldn't hurt himself again.

But, life was unbearable without this release. He needed it to carry on, but he still felt guilty about it.

Matthew quickly cleaned his arms and legs where he felt the same ridges and bumps on his upper thighs. He hurried the rest and exited the shower feeling considerably better. He dried off but when he was about to get dressed he realised he hadn't brought a spare change of clothes with him. He groaned and wrapped a towel round his waist and another round his shoulders before hobbling as fast as he could to his bedroom.

Prising open the door he was met with his room. A single bed in the corner below the flag of his beloved homeland, or so he liked to think. His parents were separated when the twins were born and Al spent a couple of years in Texas with their mother while Matthew was in Quebec with his father. When their parents had gotten back together again they were reunited and instantly became inseparable. His room was sparingly furnished, bed, desk, chair, wardrobe, small bookcase and a small set of drawers by his bed was what his room consisted of. The walls were decorated with posters of his favourite hockey team, the Quebec Remparts, and his Canadian flag above his bed.

Matthew went to his wardrobe and pulled out a pair of loose jeans and a long-sleeved hockey jersey. He pulled them on delicately, groaning at the sight of his purpling stomach that was sure to be almost black in the morning.

When he was dressed he headed back downstairs and caught Alfred on the phone.

"Okay, I'll pick you up Saturday at 7…

…No, you hang up.

…I'm not hanging up until you hang up..." The sound of a beep was heard and Alfred looked at his phone in shock. "He hung up…." He turned around and Matthew could see him pouting.

"Al, if he had to go he had to go." Matthew said in response to the dejected look on his brother's face. "Shall we make the pancakes now?" _That worked. _Thought Matthew as his twin instantly started grinning and running into the kitchen.

A while later they were done and they had prepared a stack of pancakes in a Tupperware box. "Okay, let's go round and formerly introduce ourselves." Said the Canadian sibling to his twin.

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><p>They left the house and headed across the permanently deserted road to the house opposite. The car was still parked outside but the residents had apparently gone into the house as there was no one around. Alfred shifted anxiously on the spot as this house had always made him nervous. "Mattie if a ghost comes out, run. Cause you can't fight those! They're like, harm proof!" He said warily as he looked up at the large house that he had nightmares about when he was younger.<p>

"Al, no ghosts are going to get us." Matthew sighed and rang the doorbell.

After a while they heard footsteps coming towards the door. "It has feet! It's not a ghost!" was heard coming from Alfred just before the door opened to reveal a tall blonde man with shoulder-length tousled hair.

"Ah, bonjour, unfortunately we are all atheists here and have no interest in converting."_ Ah, he's French._ Thought Matthew at this strange man. He was wearing what appeared to be red leggings under a long blue top with 'Paris' written in glitter on the front.

"Uhh we're not religious…" Al muttered awkwardly, the Frenchman looked taken aback for a moment.

"Oh, are you selling something? We're kind-of busy at the moment so you might want to come back another time." He wasn't really paying attention to the people in front of him and kept looking inside the house, obviously wanting to go back inside.

"We live across the street, I'm Matthew and he's Alfred." Matthew introduced them in his usual quiet voice.

"We have pancakes!" Alfred interjected suddenly in that way which was typically… well, Alfred.

"Oh! Mon Dieu! How rude of me, and to think you went to the trouble of making these for us!" The Frenchman said dramatically, putting a hand to his forehead in a theatrical manner. "And two boys as cute as you both made them for us as well!" He said, continuing with the overdramatic gestures and voice. He actually looked at the pair for the first time. "Wow aren't we gorgeous!" He said, standing between the two boys and draping an arm over each of their shoulders. Matthew tensed and Alfred tried to untangle himself from the French blonde.

"Francis? Are you harassing those boys? We've only just moved in amigo! You don't want to get arrested already, it doesn't look good, you know?" Said a tanned lightly muscled man with dark curly hair and bright green eyes, and a smile that seemed like it was meant to be on his face at all times. He was wearing dark trousers and a short sleeved checked shirt with the first few buttons undone.

Francis sighed and released the brothers, putting his hands up in surrender. "Toni, I was just greeting our neighbours. I was only being nice mon ami. I shall go heat up the pancakes non?" he suggested and accepted the tub from Matthew who was hiding shyly behind his brother slightly, and went inside.

"Sorry about him, he's a bit of a drama queen. Anyway, neighbours huh? Hola! Mi llamo Antonio! Did you really make us pancakes?" He asked, still beaming widely. Matthew decided it suited him, made his eyes shine brightly. Alfred decided to speak up, "It's no problem bruh! I'm Alfred! And this is my brother Matthew. You bet your ass we made you pancakes!" Alfred laughed obnoxiously and the Spanish man's grin got even wider.

"Thank you, Alfred, Matthew! You guys are so nice! Come in, it's a little messy because we just moved in but I don't think it's too bad! Ludwig and Gil are out getting food and probably beer right now so you'll have to meet them later, I'm afraid…"

"Oh you mean the German guys? We met 'em earlier." Alfred said confidently although as they entered the house he looked anything but. His shoulders were tense and his posture was really stiff.

"Oh! So you're the ones that Gilly was talking about before…" He spoke as if he hadn't meant to say it out loud. Matthew was too shy to ask and Alfred was too distracted by the house to have heard. The house was old fashioned and spacious but not unwelcoming. It felt like somewhere which could be very warm and friendly with large open spaces and lots of rooms. They walked down the wooden-floored hallway and onto tiled flooring as they entered the kitchen. At the counter in the kitchen sat Francis with a fork in his mouth and eyes open wide.

"Uhh…Francis? Are you okay amigo?" Antonio asked nervously as he cautiously walked up to his friend. Francis didn't respond, instead he picked up another fork and cut a piece of pancake off the plate in front of him and gave it to Antonio who was hesitant at first but then accepted it and took on the same wide-eyed expression as the Frenchman had only moments before.

"Is it bad?" Matthew asked self-consciously, blushing with embarrassment at his plan having back-fired. After a few seconds Antonio snapped out of his daze. "That. Is. Amazing."

They both started eating the pancakes ravenously and had to physically hide the rest so there was enough for the other two who lived in the house to have some later. Afterwards, Francis insisted Matthew taught him how to make them. The next better part of an hour was spent with Matthew teaching Francis and then they both made pancakes together which were shared between the four of them. After a while Matthew's bruises and overall pain was starting to make him feel sick so he said he was tired and he and Alfred left for the evening with promises to have all of them round for dinner the next day. It had been one of the best evenings Matthew had ever had. Francis had been interested to know he spoke French and they spent most of the time talking to each other in rapid French while Alfred told Antonio where all the best places to eat were in the area.

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><p>Matthew pushed open the front door to their house and slowly made his way inside. He just wanted to go to sleep after such a tiring day. But he had made friends with the neighbours and was surprised at how well everyone got along. Alfred had completely forgotten his fear of the house as soon as Antonio had mentioned food. Then, after they announced that no one had bought any Matthew and Alfred invited them round for dinner the next day when he and Francis would cook everyone dinner. Matthew had made friends, he was so happy he had completely forgotten about his earlier day and the incident with Danny. It wasn't important. People had noticed him and after a while he began to feel more comfortable and was able to talk to Francis and Antonio without feeling nervous. It was great!<p>

Well he did, until the phone rang.

Matthew looked at the phone and picked it up hesitantly, "Hello?"

"…Hi? Is that Alfred?" Replied an American woman. _Oh great it's mum._

"No, it's Matthew." _I do not feel like dealing with this._

"Are you a friend of Alfred's? Could you put him on please? Tell him it's his mother." Said the woman in response. Matthew just sighed and shoved the phone into Alfred's hands that lifted it to his ear in surprise. "It's for you." He said simply as he headed to his room, good mood gone.

He slammed the door to his room and locked it. He couldn't believe it. "_Are you a friend of Alfred's?" _He wanted to hit something, hurt something, hurt himself. He pulled out a book from his bookshelf, a dictionary, and flicked through to the pages near the middle where he had cut out a rectangle in the centre of the page and took out the blade he kept in there. He took off his jersey and threw it over the chair sat in front of his desk. He hovered the blade over his inner arm before pressing it against the skin and dragging it across while he hissed in pain. He then sat and watched as little red dots became droplets of blood and ran down the side of his arm, taking his worries and anger with it.

Matthew repeated the action a few more times until he decided he should clean everything up. He grabbed a handful of tissues and pressed them against the cuts, gritting his teeth against the pain. He then grabbed the bandages out of the chest of drawers by his bed and wrapped his arm tightly. When the blade had been cleaned and put back in the book Matthew pulled on a long-sleeve hoodie and fell into bed, completely exhausted now.

A feeling of relaxation took over him for the moment as he slipped into a sleep that would soon become fitful with nightmares of being tormented by a certain Cuban boy.

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><p><strong>So...that was... Idk it's too late for me to decide, you tell me? :3 How was it? <strong>

**:)**

**Flying Mint Bunny loved giving hugs but he's tired so now reviewers get to ride round Poland's "Wicked Hipster Pink" house on his beloved pony! :D **

**I am very tired (it's nearly 2am here) so I am going to bed now xD **

**Also, my reviewers are amazing! Even the ninja reviewers who add to story subscribe etc without reviewing (sneaky ninja folk... xD still awesome though :'D), and anyone reading this story! You are all sexy beasts. **

**~Oresama**

**Ohbugger! **

**Mon ami - my friend**

**mon dieu - my god**

**Mi llamo - my name is/I am called**

**... I think that was it...**

**I am terrible at French so I apologise if it is wrong xD**


	4. Ludwig who's…ooh! Pancakes!

**So much awesome response! :D LOVE YOU ALL! You are all awesome! Here is the next chapter and I hope it went okay D: **

The first thing Matthew was aware of when he woke up was pain. Pain that had woken him in the early hours of the morning and made him bite down on his pillow to quell the whimpers coming from inside. It was as if knives where being inserted into his stomach and left arm, causing Matthew to struggle to breathe and sweat to drip from his face. After a short while the pain slowly started to decrease in intensity and Matthew was able to sit up from his foetal position. He figured that he must have moved in his sleep which caused his injuries to hurt more. The Canadian checked his arm to find a couple of the cuts from a few hours ago had begun to bleed again. He checked and was relieved to see that no blood had stained his bed-sheets and warily stood up.

A wave of light-headedness hit him and he had to grab the wall to stop himself collapsing back onto the bed. Matthew decided a shower was desperately needed and it might make him feel better so he slowly made his way to the bathroom using the wall as an anchor.

The hot water eased his tense and tired muscles, and soothed the pain in his stomach though the powerful jet stung his arms a little. He pulled the rest of the bandage off with a hiss at the sharp pain, as most of it had come loose and fallen off in the short time he was asleep it was only attached where blood had dried it to the skin. After a little scrubbing the rest of the dried blood came off and when he felt he was suitably clean, Matthew turned off the water jet and stepped out of the shower. He dried himself off as best he could and re-bandaged his arm, wincing at how many cuts he had done the night before.

_I guess I went a little overboard, eh? It was a while since I last did it…I should probably keep an eye on those, I don't want to lose too much blood. _

When he was bandaged, he wrapped a towel round himself and wandered back to his room.

Matthew decided to wear a pair of dark jeans and a red long-sleeved top with a white maple leaf in the middle. His clock told him it was still a long time before anyone would be awake so he decided to listen to some music on his mp3 player until it was a more reasonable time to be awake.

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><p>When it was almost time for Alfred to start waking up, Matthew decided to make some breakfast pancakes. He absentmindedly mixed the batter and started making them on autopilot.<p>

Just as Alfred walked down Matthew realised he had made a lot more than he had meant to. He knew Alfred could eat a lot but that many would make him ill…

He decided to be neighbourly and give some to the new arrivals as they had used up the last of their food the day before. Alfred pulled a load of pancakes onto his plate and dragged made a cup of coffee from the coffee machine. He moved at the speed of someone in their late 70's with a severe muscle problem. That's just how he was in the morning. Matthew just assumed it had something to do with the amount of energy he used during the day which meant at night and in the mornings he was like a walking zombie. After a couple mouthfuls of coffee he started to resemble something that might be considered human. "Aren't you havin' nuffin?" He mumbled in his hazy state.

"I've already had some." Matthew replied, which was a lie. He hadn't eaten anything as he was feeling sick but he didn't want his brother worrying about him. "I'm just going to take these to the new neighbours." Matthew added, sliding the rest of the pancakes into a clear plastic tub. He made his way over the road and as he was approaching he heard the sounds of muffled shouting coming from within. He hesitantly pressed the doorbell and waited nervously for someone to open the door.

* * *

><p>After a while he pressed it again and was going to give up when the door was opened by the overly-muscular blonde man whom he and Alfred had met a few days ago. When he opened the door he looked down at Matthew in confusion from his towering height.<p>

"Hallo?…can I help you?" He asked tentatively.

"Hello, I'm Matthew, we m-met the other day… I made some s-spare pancakes and thought you guys might… might like them…" Mathew replied shyly, avoiding eye contact with the intimidating German.

Ludwig looked taken aback by this at first before accepting the box from the Canadian. "That is extremely kind of you, the ones you made yesterday were extremely enjoyable though there was only a small amount left by the time we had returned." He said, still looking rather surprised at the kindness of the smaller boy. At this point the Spanish boy, Antonio, walked to the front door.

"Ludwig who's…ooh! Pancakes! Did you make these for us again? You are too kind amigo! Luddie and Gil were supposed to buy food yesterday but they only bought beer!" Antonio spoke rapidly, not leaving space for anyone to reply. Ludwig developed a rather deep blush as Antonio mentioned the beer, almost as deep as Matthew's as he was being complimented and the Canadian decided that maybe Ludwig wasn't so terrifying after all…

_Though I hope that I never get in a fight with him, ever._

Ludwig started muttering excuses about the beer and Antonio just smiled in his usual overly bright manner but Matthew was once again overcome with a feeling of dizziness. He gripped the side of the house near to him to steady himself as the world became slightly blurry. _Damn it I must have lost too much blood last night…_

Ludwig stopped stammering and looked to Matthew who had turned a strange grey colour. "Are you okay Matthew?" _The way he pronounces my name is strange… like he's saying Match – hue_

"He's right, you don't look so good amigo…" Antonio held on to Matthew's shoulders to steady him as he had started to sway a little.

When he realised that they had been talking about him, Matthew mumbled a slightly slurred "m'fine" at which the German and Spaniard shared a look and decided to lead him into the house.

They sat him at the sofa and Antonio got him a glass of water.

"Are you okay, amigo?" Antonio asked for about the fifth time as he took the empty glass from the Canadian.

"Thank you, I'm fine now." Matthew replied embarrassedly. And he was, the dizzy spell had mostly cleared and his mind was less foggy.

"Are you still going into school?" The Spaniard asked as the German left to, as he put it, 'get his lazy arschloch of a bruder out of his damn bed'. Matthew nodded in response and the Spanish man looked apprehensive. "What school do you go to?" He asked, to which Matthew replied the name of his school and Antonio visibly brightened. "That's where we go today! It's our first day, except Francis who starts tomorrow. Hombre had a little too much to drink last night, you know." The Spaniard deflated slightly, as if this was a regular occurrence he wasn't happy about. After what felt like a millisecond slip in his usual appearance Antonio was smiling brightly once again. "Anyway, we can take you to school! We'll drive you so we know you're okay!" He spoke enthusiastically again and Matthew was in too much of a heartfelt daze to decline.

_Someone is actually noticing me… and they actually want to make sure I'm okay? I don't…I don't understand. It's amazing, it feels really strange. Two people have been able to remember me. And he can see me still! I don't understand._

Some muffled shouting in what sounded like German from the harsh accent snapped Mattie out of his daze and soon Ludwig re-joined the group in the living room. "I'm going to set out the pancakes, it seems we have found something that will get Gilbert out of bed before noon." He said almost in shock. Antonio laughed and also had a look of surprise,

"We tipped ice on him and he doesn't move, pancakes and he gets up. Gilly is so strange sometimes!" He laughed to Matthew good naturedly. "Oh and Mattie's coming with us to school today." He called into the kitchen where Ludwig had escaped to. After a couple more stories of attempts to get the near albino German out of bed from Antonio the man himself entered the living room.

"The awesome has arrived!" He laughed obnoxiously, his hands on his hips and a cocky smirk on his face. He was wearing leather trousers and grey t-shirt over a black long-sleeved top. The T-shirt had the word "AWESOME" in big black bold letters. Matthew smiled slightly at this, it suited the teen's personality in the same way that Matthew's maple-leaf top suited the Canadian boy.

"Good morning Gil!" Antonio said happily, standing up to give him a hug.

"Always with the hugs 'Toni! Mein Gott…. Anyway where are mein pancakes? I was promised pancakes!" He said with what looked like a pout at the thought of being misled. Antonio laughed and poked the pouting lip,

"I'll just go help Luddy make them. He's not so good with the cooking like me or Francis… keep an eye on Mattie, okay?" He said quickly as he headed to where the blonde man had gone.

"Mattie?" The silver haired boy asked confusedly, noticing Matthew on the sofa. "You! I met you the other day, you live opposite right?" He asked, perching himself on the arm rest of the sofa. Matthew nodded, another wave of nausea and dizziness had struck and his skin tone was almost identical to Gilbert's.

"You okay Matt? You look like shit." Gilbert said simply from where he was sitting. Matthew rose from the chair as he got the metallic feeling in the back of his throat and before he knew it he was hunched over being sick on the floor.

"Sheisse! So un-awesome!" Gilbert yelled as Matthew rather violently threw up in his living room.

"I am so sorry!" Matthew said sincerely, face fully covered in a humiliated blush but before he could say anything else the edges of the world started going black and turning sideways. The last thing he could sense was someone shouting his name but it sounded like it was being yelled through a tunnel.

* * *

><p><strong>How was it? I never know with these things... usually when I like it it's bad and vice versa...<strong>

**Poland's pony was like totally happy with giving rides to all you people cause you are all so awesome, but, like flying mint bunny he needs to rest. This time reviewers get to feed Mr Puffin, Iceland has been kind enough to lend us him for a short amount of time...**

**~Ore-sama**

**Bruder = brother**

**arschloch =asshole **

**Sheisse = shit (More commonly known as having the B thing [cantrememberthename] but I don't have that on here and the B with-a-tail means "ss" so...yeah)**


	5. My new nickname for him! Isn't it cute?

**Hey Hey Hey! I updated early! I know there aren't many words but it's earlier than usual and I shall try to get one done this weekend to! :D**

**Hope the editing doesn't bugger up too bad :/ my Microsoft thing really hate's the doc manager... IDK why...**

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><p>"…he's not waking up, I'm calling an ambulance…" <em>Was that Ludwig?...<em>

_Who needs an ambulance? What if it's Alfred?_ Matthew heaved himself up in his bed to find he had no idea where he was. The room had a load of boxes lying at the edges and was scarcely furnished. The walls were a light pastel orange and the only thing personal was the duvet cover which had lots of little cartoon tomatoes on. Matthew raised an eyebrow as he looked around.

He shifted in the bed as he tried to manoeuvre himself off it when a silver-haired young man came in.

"West! It's okay, he's awake!" The man shouted.. _I know him…. _Matthew thought his mind felt like it was filled with fog and he couldn't think clearly because of it. _West? Who?_

The man lightly grabbed Matthew's shoulders and pushed him back into bed. "Hey! You're sick, don't get up damnit!" He said, fake anger masking his worry. Suddenly the name clicked in Matthew's mind.

"Gilbert!" He realised too late that he had said it out loud. The man laughed,

"The one and only!" He said with a cocky smirk. There were more footsteps and Antonio and Ludwig came into the room.

"You're awake! You had us worried amigo!" The Spanish man said, running to Matthew's side and putting his hand on the Canadian's forehead. "Hmm your temperature has gone down, that's great! Are you feeling better?" He said with a smile brighter than the sun.

Matthew nodded, "A lot better thank you, but, where am I?" He asked, tilting his head in confusion.

"You're in my room!" Spain declared, _is this guy always this hyper? He should meet that Feliciano kid in my math's class. They would get on so well. _"After you passed out Gilbert and Ludwig brought you in here." _Oh that's right, I passed out…_

"How long was I out for?" Matthew asked, a blush forming on his face.

"About 10 minutes, West was just about to call an ambulance. Kesesese" Gilbert poked his stoic brother's cheek who glared at the silver-haired man before leaving, muttering something about letting the dogs back in the house.

Matthew went wide eyed, _10 minutes? That's a long time…_

This time it was Antonio's turn to speak. "Do you still need an ambulance? You still don't look so good."

"I'm fine, thank you. Really… I just, sorry for bothering you." Matthew said quietly, wrapping his arms around himself then he froze when he realised he could feel his arms pressed against each other. He went completely stiff with his eyes wide before tentatively looked down to see his bandaged arms, scars visible in places where bandages couldn't cover. He was wearing a top that didn't belong to him.

"M-Maple!" He whimpered, Gilbert saw his expression and turned to Antonio,

"Give us a sec 'Toni?" He said quietly and Antonio complied, quietly leaving the room. They had discussed this earlier when they discovered the bandages as well as the boy's other injuries. Gilbert, though an insensitive idiot, was the best person to talk to Matthew. Ludwig refused to let anyone see his emotions, France was hung over and he, Antonio, was not good with serious situations. Seeing as he had no school now as they had decided to take the day off, Antonio went to make some coffee for Francis to try and coax him out of bed.

* * *

><p>Meanwhile, Matthew had drawn his knees to his chest and was resting his head on them, a deep blush on his face and shivering from nerves. "Why?" He mumbled, turning his head to face Gilbert.<p>

Gilbert rubbed the back of his head and walked towards Matthew, sitting on the floor beside the bed. "When you passed out you got sick on your shirt." The German said, his voice and face uncharacteristically serious. "We decided to change your top 'cause it was, yanno, gross and we thought you could borrow one of mine until yours was clean. " Matthew nodded, still shaking from fear. "We've only just met but it would be completely un-awesome of me to just leave you hurting yourself, besides…I kind-of know what it's like to want to hurt yourself." The German finished, his face so serious it was now easy to see that he and his brother were more alike than he thought.

Matthew looked confused for a moment and unsure as to what the German meant. _He just fills guilty. He'll just end-up forgetting me and besides, how can someone as loud and egotistical know even for a second- _

His thoughts were cut short as the silver-haired man pulled up the sleeve of the long-sleeved top he wore under his t-shirt, revealing dozens of scars of varying sizes and age. Most of them were rather faded now but every now and then a deeper one would stand out from where the cut had been deep. Matthew looked up to the man who was facing away from him. A mix of emotions in those blood-red eyes of his as he pulled his shirt sleeve down. Matthew gaped like a fish as he tried to think of something to say when the other man spoke for him.

"If you need to talk, like I said, I know what it feels like. I don't care what time it is or anything. Just come over or give me a call." He said simply, looking around before he spotted a note-pad in a box near him. He pulled it towards himself and picked out a red felt-tip and wrote his number on one of the pages before handing it to Matthew who slipped it into his pocket, still in a state of shock.

"Why?" Matthew asked softly, his eyes starting to water. "Why would you want to help me? I just…I'm no one. Not even worth remembering." He whispered.

Gilbert thought about what to say for a moment before he decided how to word things. "Why? I don't know. I just… you seem nice and you're going through a tough time. Plus you're really cute." Matthew made a high pitched squeaking noise at this and his face went bright red.

Gilbert laughed, "You sounded like a little bird! Kesesese! That's it, from now on I'm calling you birdie!"

Matthew didn't know quite what to make of that, _I've never had a nickname before… Birdie, birdie…. I like it. Wait, he called me cute! _Eventually he too ended up smiling, then full out grinning. Someone had noticed him and found out his secret which was still scary, the thought that someone knew, but they had said he could talk to them… He just hoped they didn't forget him.

After a little while where Matthew and Gilbert sat in silence, enjoying each other's company, Antonio knocked on the door and poked his head round. "Just checking mi amigos are alive…" He said and Matthew thought he sounded almost nervous. "Also, Matt's top is clean and dry now…"

Gilbert face changed to his usual cocky smirk so fast Matthew couldn't help but stare. _It was instant… I wonder if he ever shows how he feels. I really misunderstood him… He really is a good actor though…_

Antonio came in holding Matthew's maple-leaf top and he handed it to Matthew who stood up to get changed. When they saw that the Canadian wasn't going to topple over the two left him to change in privacy.

* * *

><p>Downstairs, Gilbert leant against a kitchen counter next to where Ludwig was standing. Antonio had gone to try once again to convince Francis to get out of bed. "How did it go?" The blonde German asked his older brother.<p>

"It was okay, I told him to come round whenever he wanted to talk." The silver haired man replied.

"That was …even now you still surprise me bruder." Ludwig replied, turning to face Gilbert, his expression unreadable.

"That's because, mein kleine bruder, I am awesome at levels you can't even comprehend!" Gilbert laughed, reaching up to ruffle the blonde's hair. "You really look like Opa when you shove your hair back…" He laughed, looking up at his brother. Ludwig shifted at the attention,

"I wouldn't know, I don't remember." He said, his cheeks flushed. He coughed awkwardly before speaking again. "Did you ask Matthew about the bruises?" Gilbert shook his head,

"Nein I didn't want to make him more nervous than he was. Birdie was already shaken up by just the cuts." He said, his tone light but serious.

Ludwig nodded before looking confused. "Birdie?" He asked and Gilbert laughed.

"My new nickname for him! Isn't it cute? But only I can call him that."

The corners of Ludwig's mouth twitched upwards slightly, his brother was like that. Like the ridiculous 'West' nickname he had been given as a baby and secretly rather liked…

Gilbert smiled in thought for a little while, "I'm gonna go check on Birdie." He said, pushing himself from the counter. "Oh and West, I know you were too young to remember but Opa, he was a good man. He would have been proud of you." He said, smiling sadly before turning away and heading to where Matthew was.

Ludwig stayed standing by the counter dumbfounded by his older brother's words. Gilbert was an idiot, but not always. He liked to be seen as strong but he was genuinely a good person.

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><p><strong>Aaaaand it's done. :D<strong>

**I love this story :')**

**Iceland's puffin is now at the gym trying to burn some pounds after you guys stuffed the poor bugger xD**

**He still loves you though!**

**But now England's unicorn feels all left out so this time reviewers get to feed Uni sugar cubes! :D**

**WOOO!**

**~Ore-sama**

**Translations:**

**Amigos - friends (Spanish)**

**Mein kleine bruder - my little brother (German)**

**Opa - Grandpa (German) [I am referring to Germania here]**

**...I think that's all of them...**


	6. If it's a Mutti you need

**Well, I did it! This is uploaded and is the longest chapter so far :D Oh and all my reviewers are absolute babes! xD Goddamn sexy beasts you ;) that also included all subscribers and favourite-ers :D You sexy ninjas you ;)**

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><p>Gilbert walked towards Antonio's room where Matthew was currently staying. He shook his head to rid himself of the memories that plagued him since his conversation with his brother. His grandfather had been a great man and it was rather a sore spot for the silver-haired man even now.<p>

As he neared the room he saw a rather sensitive looking Frenchman stumbling down the corridor towards him. _I can't resist this! Kesesese. _"HALLO FRANCIS!" He yelled and laughed as said Frenchman grabbed his head and swore in French.

_Teach him to get drunk on a school night, kesesese!_

"Why mon ami? Whyyyy?" Francis whined as he continued down the corridor and past the laughing German, covering his ears against possible future noise-attacks.

Gilbert wiped the humour-induced tears from his eyes and knocked on the door of Antonio's room where the Canadian was changing. _Look at me being all considerate and knocking! Mein Gott if Luddy saw this he would explode!_

"Hey, you done?" He called to the other side of the door.

He had to press his ear to the door to hear the faint 'yes' called from the other side.

"Gott verdammt birdie you need to speak up more!" He laughed as he pushed open the door.

Matthew was sitting on the bed in his own top now, looking a lot better than he did before. _But still not 100%..._

Matthew didn't reply to this but his face flushed a little.

"So… how are you feeling?" Gilbert asked awkwardly. _I'm no good at this…. Wait a second? When am I not good at something? I'm freaking awesome at everything!_

"I'm feeling a lot better thank you." Matthew's timid voice broke Gilbert out of his self-praising which he usually would have been irritated about if not for the fact that the Canadian looked too cute right now! He had a light blush and his clothes were too big for him which made him look even smaller. Before Gilbert had the chance to complete his thoughts the sound of a stomach rumbling tore through the silence in the room.

The silver-haired man looked wide-eyed at the innocent looking Canadian in front of him. "Jeeze birdie we need to get you some food!" He laughed, "Get up I'm taking you to lunch. I never pay for my own food let alone someone else's so this is like a one-off thing you cannot refuse." He said as he began to walk out of the room.

Matthew squeaked in surprise but decided not to protest (not that he had a choice…) as he followed Gilbert out of the room.

When Gilbert told the others that he was taking Matthew to lunch and would get groceries afterwards, Antonio leapt up to him and put his hands on Gilbert's forehead.

"No fever...Maybe what Matt had is contagious! Amigo are you feeling well?" The Spaniard asked in genuine concern. Gilbert laughed at his friend and mocked offence.

"Just because I decide to go and be nice..." He said in pretend pain, pulling Matthew out the door with him.

* * *

><p>(Matt POV)<p>

Matthew sat opposite Gilbert at a small diner not too far from where the two lived. They hadn't really said a lot on the walk over and just as Matthew was about to speak a pretty waitress came over. She regarded Gilbert's curious appearance, flicking her dark hair over her shoulder and batting her eyelashes flirtatiously before asking him what he wanted to order, leaning on the table while she asked.

Gilbert appeared oblivious to her attempts as he ordered sausages and mash (then began muttering how it was the closest thing to German food on the menu) and then the waitress pouted as her flirting had gone unnoticed and turned to leave. Matthew sighed, he was used to this, the waitress just couldn't see him. He was resigned to having a day without food when the silver-haired man opposite yelled out.

"Oi! You didn't ask my friend what he wanted!" Matthew's face went the shade of beetroot as the waitress turned around. It seemed she finally noticed the other boy was present as she returned to the table with a light blush. He asked for 'cheese on chips' figuring it couldn't be too far from Poutine which was his favourite food besides pancakes.

The pretty waitress huffed and walked towards the kitchen with her nose in the air and Gilbert turned to Matthew. "Can you believe that Birdie? Fucking ridiculous!" He exclaimed dramatically, his hands mirroring his tone of voice in their gestures.

Matthew just stared down at the table, his face still flushed. "I'm used to it." He muttered quietly.

Gilbert raised an eyebrow but said nothing as their food was brought to their tables. Matthew thanked the waitress but avoided eye-contact. He was still embarrassed about the shouting but he couldn't deny how _nice_ it felt having someone who noticed him, and not only that but made others notice him too.

Cheese on chips was nothing like Poutine but still rather nice, Matthew decided as they left the café. Gilbert was going on about how his mash was a disgrace to potatoes and that he had made a bad choice in accepting anything other than German sausages. Matthew had to stifle a laugh at the way the other man was carrying on. He was acting like it was the greatest offence known to human kind, though Matthew would not say this out loud of course.

The two headed into town to get some groceries from the local food stall. Francis would not accept anything less than naturally grown produce in his cooking according to Gilbert. _This is nice; I've had a really good day not counting this morning…_

"What's got you smiling Birdie?" Gilbert asked, smiling himself.

"Uhh, I just…I've just had a really nice time." Matthew replied shyly while keeping his gaze fixed on his shoes as they walked. He looked up when he heard the other man laughing.

"Jeeze Birdie you get this happy over dinner at a crappy diner? I know my awesome company would cheer you up!" He laughed arrogantly as they continued towards the shop.

* * *

><p>After a little while Matthew realised his shoelaces had come undone so they stopped so the Canadian could tie them properly. As they were standing a small noise could be hear coming from an alley next to them. Gilbert disappeared and when Matthew was standing up again the German man had returned and was holding what appeared to be a small, rather dirty looking chick of some kind. It had fluffy yellow feathers and a rather flat face, as Matthew looked closer he noticed it had red eyes, about the same colour as Gilbert's.<p>

"Hey Birdie look! I think it must have hurt its leg 'cause it can't seem to walk that good." He said, his voice oddly serious. He raised the chick to eye-level and addressed it, "hey awesome fella! You're gonna come home with me kay? I'll take you to the vet then you can come live with me at my place. And you will be the most awesome pet ever!" He laughed then lightly stroked the chick with one of his fingers. The chick relaxed at this and seemed very content in Gilbert's palm.

Matthew thought the chick was rather cute, but what was more surprising was the man holding it. He was speaking so gently to the chick and was holding it like it was made of the most delicate glass in the world. They decided to go to the pet-shop to ask about the bird and to get the stuff the small creature would need.

* * *

><p>They walked into the large pet store and headed straight to the back corner which was the birds section. The Aviary was basically a giant cage from floor to ceiling which was segmented for various bird types and a few shelves containing things like cages, food and treats for the birds.<p>

A large man in a shirt and tie was just exciting the cage as the two went over. They pulled the man aside and Gilbert showed him the bird and explained how he had found it. The man asked them to follow him to a counter where he asked Gilbert to place the bird.

Gilbert was reluctant but he finally gave in and carefully placed the little bird on the table. As soon as the bird was off Gilbert's hand it began tweeting madly and attempting to stumble towards him.

"It really seems attached to you!" The man who worked at the store said in surprise as he tried to stop the bird injuring itself more. The bird would not accept this though and continued going berserk.

Gilbert put his hand out and placed the bird back in his palm carefully with a "hey, hey! Don't hurt yourself! That would be so un-awesome!"

The clerk asked Gilbert to lay his hand on the counter palm up so he could look at the bird without it pining for Gilbert.

Matthew looked on as the clerk bandaged the tiny bird's leg and wrote down something on a notepad he procured from his shirt pocket.

"Right, what you have here is a male lutino budgerigar which is the same as a regular budgerigar but with a genetic coding similar to that of the albino budgerigar. Otherwise known as 'Budgie' or perhaps 'parakeet'. The age is probably 2 months and it is a lutino because of the yellow feathers all over and red eyes…" at this the store clerk looked up at Gilbert with an amused smile. "I think I see what's happened here. The bird has bonded to you because you have similar eyes. I'm guessing this bird was abandoned by its mother bird and you are the closest it's ever had to one. "At this Matthew laughed and Gilbert looked at him confused.

"He's saying the bird thinks you're its momma!" He giggled and Gilbert laughed lightly too.

Gilbert leaned closely to the bird, still laughing slightly. "Well, if it's a Mutti you need it's your Mutti I shall be!" He laughed and then turned back to the store clerk. "What do I need to get for the little guy?" The clerk pulled off the piece of paper he had been writing on and handed it to Gilbert.

"This is how often you feed and clean him, here is an information leaflet on budgerigars and I'll show you what you'll need." He said, handing Gilbert a leaflet on Budgie care and training.

They headed through the store and by the end the bird was placed in a large cage being carried extremely carefully while Matthew held a carrier bag filled with budgie food, treats and toys as well as a couple of manuals on budgie care.

As they started walking out of the shop Matthew's attention was caught by a small pen filled with rabbits. One particular one caught his eye; it had long shaggy hair and large floppy ears. Its eyes were large and a deep chocolate colour. Matthew smiled at it and the creature shuffled towards the gate and he swore the rabbit looked right at him. The Canadian shook his head and followed Gilbert outside.

* * *

><p>They stepped of the pet shop and out into the cool outside air before Gilbert asked Matthew to hold the cage so he could call Ludwig for a ride home. Matthew placed his bags on the ground carefully and gently took the cage from Gilbert. The bird inside looked up at Matthew and tweeted lightly. The bird song was rather pretty and it made Matthew smile.<p>

"Birdie's getting serenaded by a bird…" Gilbert laughed to himself as he dialled his brother's number. "Oi West! Can you come pick me and Birdie up? …. No he's fine…. Yeah too much to carry…. See you soon! We're outside the pet store! You know the one we passed yesterday." With that he hung up and turned round to face Matthew and the bird.

"West will be here in 5." He said simply, cooing at the bird again.

"I've been meaning to ask, why do you call your brother West?" Matthew asked a little apprehensively.

"He was born in West Germany and I was born in the more awesome East." Gilbert explained, looking at Matthew now. "I lived in the East for a few years then moved when my Mutti remarried. Then Luddy was born and I've just always called him West and he will occasionally call me East." He answered, though the explanations brought on more questions than answers.

"My parents were separated, that's why I grew up in Canada and my brother in the US." Mattie said softly.

"Ah, mein Vati left my Mutti when I was born. He could be dead for all I know…" Gilbert muttered darkly. Matthew guessed family was a tense topic in Gilbert's house and decided not to ask any more questions in fear of upsetting his new friend.

"Have you got any pets?" Gilbert asked randomly, in what Matthew assumed was an intentional change of conversation topic.

"No, I've always wanted one. I used to ask my parents for a bunny when I was younger but they would always just ignore me or tell me they'd get one for my birthday then forget I even had a birthday to begin with when the day came around. Then they left and I just never thought to get one." Matthew answered sadly while looking at his feet once more.

When he looked up, however, Gilbert was nowhere in sight. "Gilbert?" he called, looking around for his unique looking friend.

He was still looking around in confusion when a black Mercedes pulled up on the curb next to him. The window rolled down to reveal the younger Beilschmidt brother looking thoroughly confused. "Matthew?" He asked, opening the car door. "What…where's Gilbert?" He apparently decided to ask the simpler of the two questions and just as Mattie was about to respond the man himself called out from the pet shop.

"West! Finally you can put your muscles to use! Put the bags in the back and come help with this!" He shouted to his younger brother.

"What has my dummkopf bruder done now?" He sighed and picked the bags up from beside Matthew and loaded them into the trunk of the car.

"Birdie go ahead and sit in the car, I'll be in in a sec." Gilbert added. Ludwig walked over to the pet shop muttering,

"I have a bad feeling about this." Which Matthew laughed at as he sat himself in the back of the car, putting the birdcage in the middle.

A little while later the blonde German came out of the pet shop holding a rather large wooden box which he just about managed to fit in the back of the car. Gilbert got in the back of the car next to Matthew and was himself holding a rather large cardboard box, but nowhere near as large as the crate the younger of the two was now trying to close into the back.

The box that Gilbert held in his lap began to move and he carefully placed in on Matthew's lap, being mindful of the large cage between them. Matthew looked shocked to which Gilbert just muttered "Early birthday present." A blush easily visible on his face due to his abnormally pale skin-tone.

Matthew carefully opened the box in his lap and pulled out from inside the very same large rabbit he had been admiring earlier.

He looked to Gilbert for an explanation who merely shrugged and said "I saw you looking at it before… The hutch is in the boot."

Matthew stared at the creature in awe, lightly stroking it and then his face broke out into a smile so bright that Gilbert decided it had been totally worth it.

"Thank you so much! This is… this is the nicest thing anyone's ever done!" He said, his voice wavering a little and his eyes watered. Gilbert's face broke out in a full-blown blush and he turned to the bird in the cage in sudden rapt focus.

The blonde German got into the driver's seat and shook his head.

"Bruder, du bist sehr komisch." He muttered, a small smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. "…aber es war sehr net." Gilbert did not respond to this, he pretended to be completely focused on the cage in front of him and ignored the fluttering in his stomach at seeing Birdie so happy.

"Gillbird!" He announced suddenly, making both the blonde German and the Canadian jump.

"Eh?" Matthew asked, his head tilted in confusion.

"I shall name him Gillbird!" Gilbert said again rather gleefully. Matthew laughed at this, a real laugh. One that Gilbert decided should be done more. When Matthew calmed down, Gilbert asked him what he was going to name his new pet.

"I'll call him… Maple."

_This is officially the best day of my life. Ever. I can't believe this! I'm so happy!_

Matthew continued smiling and stroking the silky-soft fur of the rabbit as Gilbert muttered to his new bird about how awesome they both were and Ludwig muttered about how he would drive them to the supermarket as they had no food and that's what Gilbert had said he was going to get while out with Matthew.

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><p><strong>And there you are :P Rather liked writing this xD hope you enjoyed reading it :D<strong>

**Tell me what you thought? Reviewers get a bowl of pasta made by Italy! :D**

**Love you all! :D**

**~Ore-sama**

**Translations!**

**dummkopf bruder - Idiot brother (German)**

**Bruder, du bist sehr komisch - Brother, you are very strange**

**…aber es war sehr net - But it was very nice**


	7. …that's a rabbit

**This is a tiny filler chapter! (936 words) Basically, I was gonna add more to this but decided it needed to go in it's own chapter that I should hopefully be posting tomorrow! :D (I'm too tired right now) **

**Just to let you know...**

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><p>It was nearly time for Alfred to be getting home by the time the group got back to their houses. Getting everything out of the car was complicated as Gilbert didn't trust anyone other than himself and Matthew to look after Gillbird and Matthew had Maple to hold onto. In the end, Ludwig and Antonio carried the large box that contained the rabbit hutched from the boot of the car to Matthew's house while Gilbert followed and Francis carried the bags of food into their own house. Gilbert came over, still carrying his new friend in the cage, to say goodbye to Matthew (and to check he was okay, but he wasn't going to say that…).<p>

Matthew walked in to where the hutch was being placed in the front room and once the Spaniard and Blonde-haired tank-of-a-man were done they left to help Francis with all the bags. Matthew hugged Maple and put her (he had checked) inside the cage quickly so he could thank Gilbert for the best day of his life. He turned round just as Gilbert was walking up to him so they ended up bumping into each other and Matthew did the first thing he thought of and threw his arms around the teen.

"T-thank you, so, so much!" He said quietly into Gilbert's shirt, who was shocked at the gesture. He recovered and placed the cage he was holding on the floor gently and wrapped both his arms round the smaller teen's shoulders.

"Birdie are you crying?" He asked, leaning back to get a better look.

"…no." Matthew mumbled pathetically while wiping his eyes. "Fine. It's just…no one's ever even noticed I was there and today… It's just a little….I just…. I don't know, nothing like this has ever happened before." He mumbled, his tears had stopped but he was lightly sobbing every now and then. Gilbert looked down at the sobbing teen in his arms sadly. It wasn't fair that he had to feel like this. Before he knew it he wrapped the Canadian up in a tight embrace and lightly kissed the top of his head. Then the east-German blushed furiously and hoped that Matthew hadn't felt that.

Gilbert reluctantly let go and Matthew felt a pang of sadness and rather cold from the loss of contact. He wrapped his arms around himself to compensate and said a shy "goodbye" to Gilbert who, in turn was blushing as he said an uncharacteristically quiet farewell as he carried his cage out of the door. "Bye Gillbird!" Matthew called as the German was leaving, Gilbert laughed loudly at this as he yelled goodbye to Maple.

Then he was gone.

Matthew reached down and pulled Maple gently out of her cage. He cuddled with her on the sofa, stroking her soft fur gently. After a while he started to feel sleep taking him but was awoken by the front door opening then shutting again. "Matt? You here?" The worried voice of his twin called out.

"Yeah Al I'm in here." Matthew replied sleepily but with a smile still on his face. He felt so giddy, like he physically couldn't stop smiling.

Alfred walked into the room quickly, "you weren't in school and I asked Arthur and apparently there's no such thing as a reading club after school and…that's a rabbit." He spoke a hundred miles an hour but stopped when he saw the animal in his brother's arms.

"Isn't she cute? Her name's Maple!" He said happily, holding her up so Alfred could see. Alfred reached out slowly and stroked the tuft of fur between her ears.

"She's so soft! Where did you…?" Matthew hugged her to him again before explaining that Gilbert bought her for him when he said he'd always wanted a pet. Alfred looked confused at this,

"The vampire from across the road?"

"Al! He's not a vampire! He's really nice!" Matthew said with a pout so Alfred decided to go back to his previous questions.

"So, where were you today?" He asked, sitting next to Matthew on the sofa. Reaching out to stroke Maple's soft fur.

"Oh, I had the day off 'cause I was sick…" He said simply, deciding not to mention the finer details. Alfred panicked and put his hand on Matthew's forehead.

"You okay? Need me to drive you to the hospital? Oh God, don't die Mattie!" Alfred started panicking and Matthew had to shout his name at least 4 times before he listened.

"Al I'm fine! I just slept for a while and it was okay." _Kind of true…_

Alfred accepted this and calmed down. "So, I asked and apparently the school doesn't have a reading group." Alfred said tentatively. He didn't want to upset his brother, especially as he seemed so happy which was rare nowadays, but he needed to know if something was up.

Matthew froze, quickly thinking of an excuse.

"There is… whoever you asked probably just hasn't heard of it, it's so small…"

Alfred hummed in response and didn't comment further.

The rest of the afternoon was spent setting up the hutch with straw and attaching the water bottle to the side etc. The box that the hutch had been in also contained a bag of food and straw as well as a couple of bags of treats and a water bottle. Matthew really owed Gilbert a massive thank you, but he didn't know how to go about it. He would just have to invite the German round and give him a room full of pancakes…

Eventually Matthew went to bed, leaving Alfred with his thoughts and a PlayStation controller.

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><p><strong>So, that was it. Hope you liked it :) I should hopefully update within the next couple of days :)<strong>

**I was going to attempt posting 2 chapters tonight but I'm too tired :P I want to be alert for the next bit cause writing it shall be hard and if I do it now it'll be half-arsed and crappy. **

**Much love!**

**Tip: Never listen to France's character themes (Embrace the tres bien moi one is worse) while exercising unless you want to overwork yourself... I ended up doing like 2000 reps on a step-up machine cause of France and the Delicious tomato song (And Levan Polka...) But yeah, France's theme nearly killed me. xD**

**Afterwards I was like stumbling around and a muttering mess in a heap on the floor...yeah.**

**Uhh on that note!**

**~Ore-sama**


	8. MapleHockey

**This was...I don't even... I'm sorry. I love all my sexy-amazing-totally-awesome reviewers! **

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><p>Alfred, as was the case every morning, had no recollection of the morning until he had finished his first cup of coffee and began pouring his second. All he knew was that he had eaten something sweet…probably cereal, he had gotten dressed in jeans with his American flag shirt which said "HERO" on the front, and that Matthew was sitting opposite eating toast…with maple syrup.<p>

"Mattie you're addicted I swear!" He said in shock as his brother poured so much maple syrup onto his toast that it overflowed onto the table a little. Then, realising what he had done, Alfred slammed a hand over his mouth. _Shit! He's gonna throw the plate at me! Or chase me down the street beating me with a hockey stick again! _Alfred panicked the biggest thing to set off his brother's extremely well hidden but deadly temper was to mention his addiction to Maple Syrup, or to criticise it.

Instead all Alfred got was his brother laughing and smiling and a shake of the head before the Canadian tucked into is sticky breakfast.

Alfred relaxed and lowered arms he wasn't aware he had raised in self-defence. He then stared at his brother in shock, Matthew was… _happy._ He knew something had been wrong with Matthew lately (he wasn't as stupid as his brother liked to pretend he was) and Matthew was impossible to make sense of. But the light smile that graced his brother's face gave him hope that maybe things would start to get better. When they were both finished they decided to head to school together despite that meaning they would both be rather early.

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><p>"And then, the guy at the shop said that he was its momma!" Matthew started giggling again.<p>

Alfred rolled his eyes, he was happy to see that his brother was happy but he had **not **stopped talking for the whole way there. Normally, Alfred would be overjoyed but a change of conversation would be amazing. All Matthew had been talking about was "Gilbert this…" and "Gilbert that…" it was beginning to get a little irritating. _Am I like that when I talk about Arthur?_

Speaking of Arthur, the two had a date coming up soon. As they stepped through the gates Alfred spotted said boyfriend leaning against the side of the school building, smoking. "I wish he wouldn't do that…" He sighed, heading towards the Englishman. He loved his brother but he had to admit, there was only so much he could take of Matthew rambling like a middle-school girl with a crush.

He walked over to his punky boyfriend who, he had to say looked rather good in his very tight dark jeans and black long-sleeved top with the Anarchy sign on the front in graffiti decal. "Hey babe." He said while wrapping his arms around his boyfriend's waist and kissing him on the nose.

"Get off me you berk." Arthur muttered half-heartedly, blushing brightly as he put his cigarette out on the school wall.

"Yay!" Alfred cheered, nuzzling his face into the crook of Arthur's neck when he saw the action.

A sudden flash distracted him from nuzzling his boyfriend and he looked around, confused. "What was that?" He asked. He decided he must have been seeing things so he went back to hugging Arthur and he kissed him full-on the lips but this time neither saw the flash as their eyes were closed. A voice behind called out something derogatory towards the action and Arthur gave the middle finger in the general direction of the voice. Alfred pulled away and kissed Arthur's nose again, entwining their hands, but turned again when he noticed the flash.

"Was that…a camera?" He looked around until he heard muttering from behind a nearby bush. He walked over to it, dragging Arthur along as they were still holding hands, and peered behind to see a rather familiar group of faces.

"…Kiku? Liza? Mei? What….? Liza are you bleeding?" Alfred asked in confusion.

Elizaveta laughed awkwardly while wiping the blood from under her nose. "I'm fine! Wow, how weird seeing you here!" She laughed nervously again. Arthur raised an eyebrow in disbelief.

"You were taking photos of us for your magazine, weren't you?"

Elizaveta shook her head but the others looked away in shame. "Okay fine!" She conceded. "But you two are the first official couple to be out! The rest we had to speculate! Plus, you two are so cute together!" She squealed and the rest nodded, even Kiku.

Alfred laughed and hugged Arthur. "Come on babe, their right! We do make a sexy-ass couple." He kissed his boyfriends cheek who then sighed in resignation.

"Fine. But you must let us approve the photos you use in the article."

The group agreed to send over the pictures and left the two in peace.

"Bloody hell. What have we signed up for?" The Englishman groaned. Alfred laughed,

"Next we'll be models for the school photography club!" Arthur face-palmed at this and groaned again.

"Bloody hell." Arthur sighed, the idea of modelling sounded highly embarrassing.

"Speaking of clubs, I asked Matt about the reading club thing and he said that you wouldn't know 'cause it's such a small group…"

"-ludicrous." Arthur cut in. "I have put in many invitations for reading groups over the years and even started one via the school council but no one ever showed up. If it existed, I'd know."

Alfred sighed sadly, "That's what I thought." _That's what I was afraid of. _"Anyway, we better get going. Don't wanna be late now do we?" He said sarcastically, taking his boyfriend's hand once more.

"You are going to be late if you walk me to class again." Arthur chided. "Go on now, I've got literature. Physics is on the opposite side. I'll see you at lunch." Arthur said sternly, completely ignoring Alfred's pout. Eventually Alfred gave up and headed to his lesson calling out a "love-ya!" as he left.

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><p>Matthew hissed in pain as his head hit the wall. He was just about able to blink away the dizziness when his head was pulled back by his hair and his forehead collided with the wall once more. Matthew turned round to face the boy in front of him, reaching a hand up to gently touch his forehead. Danny was really mad today.<p>

"Where were you yesterday, huh?" Danny growled.

"Why? Miss me?" Matthew forced a smile, inside he was shocked at his own behaviour but for some reason today he didn't feel like taking his tormentor's behaviour. Today he felt like being insolent.

Danny growled and slammed his fist into Matthew's face, _that will leave a black eye._ Thought Matthew as he looked up to Danny again. By now Matthew's vision was blurred but the worst of the pain was dulled by the adrenaline rush. _It's gonna hurt like hell later._

Seeing that his hits were doing nothing to wipe the smile of his victim's face, Danny's frustration level went right up and he punched Matthew in the stomach nearly full force. Matthew gasped and fell to his knees with a cry of "Maple-Hockey!". The pain was like his stomach was burning and his lungs felt like they just weren't working as he retched while on all fours on the ground.

"WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?" A voice of outrage in a British accent echoed down the corridor and Danny took this as his queue to run. Matthew turned his head to see Arthur running towards him. The Brit contemplated chasing Danny but chose instead to see if Matthew was okay.

"Hey, Matthew you alright?" The Englishman asked, crouching down beside Matthew who nodded despite being unable to breathe properly yet. "Stupid question, sorry." Arthur muttered.

After a short time Matthew was at least able to breathe.

"Matthew you have to report this." Matthew looked up at Arthur with wide eyes, shaking his head 'no'.

"I'm fine." Matthew choked out, "I just need to get to class." He muttered, slowly pulling himself up. "Please, please don't tell Alfred about this." He begged, his eyes filled with tears and a dark bruise forming under one of them.

Arthur didn't get a chance to respond before Matthew had wondered off to class.

"Fuck." The Englishman said out loud, running his hands through his hair.

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><p>Matthew sat in his 1st lesson. A few rows in front of him he noticed sat Antonio and Francis, surrounded by girls asking them questions. Next to him he heard two girls whispering rather loudly to each other, "Did you hear his accent? So sexy!"<p>

"Which one?"

"Both!"

Then they both started giggling incessantly. Matthew considered going and saying hello to his friends but figured he'd get a chance to later. Besides, there was no way he could get to them now.

The new group were the talk of the school, the 'charming' Frenchman and the 'sexy' Spaniard were just the start, soon everyone was talking about the shy German with the hot body. Even Gilbert was being discussed, though in a different way. Anyone could appreciate that Gilbert had a good body, but the students were more concerned with his appearance. Gangs of people were following him around between lessons when he'd meet up with Francis and Antonio, just to look at his eyes and ask him if he was a demon. Though if he'd noticed he hadn't changed because of it, Matthew had overheard how when asked to introduce himself the silver haired man had said that he was the "Awesomest son-of-a-bitch ever" and that everyone should kneel before him and cry.

Matthew had to laugh when he heard that, it was such a Gilbert thing to say.

Matthew's injuries had begun to hurt so bad that by lunchtime he could barely walk. His face was probably purple but he hadn't checked, and whenever he moved he felt like he was going to be sick. It was currently lunch-time and Matthew had waited in the classroom for 10 minutes before leaving to lower the chances of someone running into him while he was on the move.

He was headed to the cafeteria to see if he could find Gilbert and had just spotted his friend sitting at a table laughing loudly at something Francis had said. He was just about to go over when someone behind grabbed his arm and twisted it behind his back. Mathew almost screamed in pain as his cuts were horribly twisted but a voice in his ear made his breath freeze. He looked up at Gilbert, almost pleading him to turn round and see, to save him, but he had no such luck.

"You went and snitched? You dirty bastard." Matthew was really confused at this, _snitched? I didn't….Arthur._ Matthew groaned inwardly. _I told him to leave it._ Matthew looked up to Gilbert again but he was in conversation with his brother now. _Gilbert….please?_

Danny twisted harder and Matthew actually did scream a little but Danny covered the Canadian's mouth with his hand to stop the rest of the sound as he looked around to find no one had noticed. Matthew looked up once more to see if his silver haired friend had noticed when Danny followed his line of sight. "Do you think he would even look at you if he knew how disgusting and pathetic you are?" Danny laughed, dropping Matthew to the ground. "The school roof at the end of the day. Be there. I still remember where you live if you decide not to show up." Danny threatened before walking away. "Maple-hockey." Matthew whimpered as he got up from the ground and slowly dragged himself into the nearest empty classroom.

He sat at the desk nearest to him, put his head in his arms and began to cry. _He's right. If Gil knew how pathetic I was, he wouldn't waste his time with someone like me. No one could ever like someone as weak as I am. I should just die. Though Danny will probably do that for me later. I'm injured enough as it is. I don't think I can take much more, or lose much more blood… I hope Alfred remembers to feed Maple when I'm gone._

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><p><strong>I feel...evil.<strong>

**Uhhh yeah.**

***Ahem***

**I don't think there's anything else to say...**

**Italy's run out of pasta ingredients, and Uni is fat from all the sugar cubes so reviewers get to ride Uni!**

**...Don't kill me.**

**~Ore-sama**


	9. The Roof

**Okay, I think I'm going to up the rating. Just to warn you, there is blood and violence in this chapter. There are a few POV's and some time-jumping...I hope it's not too confusing D:  
><strong>

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><p>Matthew sat in his last lesson of the day and was so scared he thought he was going to be sick. He was shaking rather badly and could not even begin to concentrate on what the teacher was saying. The pain from earlier wasn't helping anything either. Eventually he gave up and decided to leave. It wasn't like anyone would notice him leaving class early anyway.<p>

He got out of his seat and began to shift along his row delicately, ignoring the curious stares of a certain Frenchman.

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><p>Francis saw Matthew leaving the room and bit his lip, Matthew seemed to be upset about something and if he was honest with himself, the Canadian looked terrible compared to his usual cute self. He got out his mobile and decided to text his friend who was supposed to be in the library right now as he had the last two lessons off. Francis didn't know the Canadian boy all that well but thought he was rather charming and quite sweet. Gilbert certainly seemed quite taken with him, even Ludwig seemed to like the Canadian. Antonio just liked everyone; it's just how he was.<p>

To: **TheChosenOne**

**Gil, Mattie just walked out of class. He seemed upset about something, thought you should know. 3****rd**** floor, don't think he's gone very far if you want to look for him.**

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><p>Gilbert sat in the library surrounded by textbooks. He had elected to do a course which involved no lessons but meant that he would get to do a project on anything he wanted. He had chosen his beloved country of Prussia. He would do a presentation on great Prussian victories and battles as well as great Prussian inventions. And so, he was now sat in the library absorbed in the books around him, fully aware that if his bruder could see him the blonde would be suspicious at the very least…<p>

Unfortunately, he had turned his phone on silent so he could concentrate.

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><p>Arthur leaned against the window frame, the cold wind whipping past his face and dragging the smoke from his cigarette along with it. He brought the stick to his mouth and inhaled the warm smoke once more, sighing as the wind stole it from his open mouth.<p>

He was lost in thought when the sound of footsteps coming towards him made him turn around, hiding the cigarette behind his back in fear of getting caught. He would already be in trouble for skipping lessons. When he saw who it was he relaxed before confusion brought back his tenseness.

"Matthew? Are you okay?" He asked worriedly but his concerns were ignored as Matthew walked straight past him and up the stairs at the end of the corridor in a zombie-like state. _Why would he go up there? It's just empty classrooms and the stairs to the roof up there._

Arthur shrugged and decided to head down to meet Alfred who would be leaving lessons shortly. On his way, however, he passed a group of people all talking about something as they headed in the opposite direction.

"…yeah, I heard them talking about it! They're all going to meet him up there and then when the guy shows up they're going to get him good! Everyone's going up there to watch." One loud-mouthed person laughed.

"Serves him right, dirty snitch." The group all laughed at this and agreed. Arthur stopped one of them.

"Excuse me, couldn't help but overhear… what's happening?" The English boy asked in confusion, a feeling of unease building up within him.

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><p>Matthew stood in front of the door to the roof. A flat expanse of concrete with a fence around the edges. Matthew could only imagine what would be waiting for him when he finally got up the courage to go out onto the roof. He had hoped that maybe Danny was joking or had forgotten but this hope vanished as he heard a group of voices coming from outside. <em>How many people are there to hurt me?<em> Matthew gulped and wiped his sweating palms on the leg of his trousers. Eventually, he decided he had to face things and pushed open the large metal door, stepping out into the cold air.

Matthew looked around at the crowd. It looked like half of his year had come to watch him get killed…

He stepped through the small crowd that was standing by the door and headed across to the other side where Danny and his gang of followers stood waiting for him. His body was trembling greatly and even now he wasn't spared the voices of "Who's that?", "Is that him?" and "Does he even go to this school?" Danny's gang was infamous for causing trouble around town. Not petty trouble, but assaults, armed robbery, a couple of gang members had been sent to offender's institutes for murder. To say that Matthew was terrified was an understatement.

Swallowing thickly he walked up to Danny who looked surprised. "Didn't think you would actually show up." The Cuban boy said to the terrified Canadian.

Matthew just gulped and looked up at the Cuban who started laughing. "Grab him." He said simply and two of his gang twisted an arm each behind the Canadian's back. Matthew cried out as his cuts were once again twisted by the action, pain searing up his arms.

Danny smiled and grabbed Matthew's hair, tilting his head so Matthew was looking up at him. Tears filling his large violet eyes behind delicate frames. "You're disgusting." The Cuban muttered, smile falling from his face before he slapped Matthew powerfully with the back of his hand.

Matthew could feel the blood running down his chin from the hit and he began to breathe heavily to try and ease the pain. The Cuban then drew his hand back into a fist which he then slammed into Matthew's face which snapped to the side viciously.

Matthew spat the blood from his mouth and his body began to shake from the pain. He could feel blood running down his arms as well as his face and the world was getting blurry.

Danny drew his fist back again, preparing to strike when he found his target suddenly covered.

Arthur stood panting in front of the Canadian, his emerald eyes blazing with anger.

"You bastard!" The Englishman shouted. "Leave him alone! Does it make you feel big picking on someone weaker than you? Does it?" He screamed, still trying to catch his breath.

He drew his fist back and landed a punch across Danny's face, causing the Cuban to stumble backwards. Matthew's eyes widened in shock at the man that had come to his rescue twice now.

Danny rubbed his jaw and glared at the Brit. Nodding to the gang members who had been restraining Matthew who then dropped the Canadian and grabbed Arthur in the same way they had Matthew. Arthur, not one for backing down, began to curse and thrash about. Danny laughed and punched the Englishman in the abdomen.

Arthur hunched over from the hit with a grunt, trying to breathe when Danny did it again, and again, and again. By now the people restraining him were more holding him up than restraining him.

The Englishman coughed and blood splattered down his clothes. Matthew saw this and began to cry out. "Stop it!" He shouted. "Leave him alone!"

Danny smirked and delivered a final blow to the teen's stomach and the people restraining the Englishman let go as Arthur fell onto his hands and knees and began to cough up blood. Danny laughed, "You're just as pathetic as he is." He shouted, nodding to the Canadian who felt himself getting hoisted up again.

"You didn't think I was going to forget you did you?" He chuckled darkly, stroking his bloody knuckles down the Canadian boy's cheek before punching him again.

Arthur did the only thing he could think of once he could breathe again and pulled out his mobile. He called the first number on the list. It rung for a couple of seconds before someone answered.

"Hey babe!" The mobile called out.

"Alfred! It's Matthew!" One of Danny's gang members noticed Arthur and headed towards him.

Arthur swore and dropped the phone. "The roof! Hurry! -" Arthur let out a scream as he was forced onto his back and had a foot pressed down on his beaten abdomen.

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><p>Alfred felt his blood run cold as he heard his boyfriend scream in what could only be pain. He dropped the phone and looked up at Francis and Antonio who had been waiting with him to meet Matthew outside the school building.<p>

"It's Matt! He's in trouble!" He panicked, sprinting back into the school building and towards the roof, closely followed by the Frenchman and Spaniard.

Alfred burst out onto the roof, shoving people out of the way as he ran towards the group at the opposite end. He could see his brother lying barely conscious on the ground and his boyfriend was being held by his hair and hit forcefully in the face. Alfred charged over and started throwing punches. He hit the man restraining his boyfriend in the face, knocking him to the ground before he turned and hit the other man abusing his love twice in the face before kicking him in the stomach, sending him reeling to the ground. He turned towards his green-eyed boyfriend and winked.

"The hero is here!" He put on a fake grin to mask his concern but he could see that Arthur was really badly injured and would probably need a trip to the hospital. The Brit looked up at him as if he was a ghost before slumping to the ground, unconscious.

Alfred didn't have time to react before there were people throwing hits at him. Some people from the crowds had decided to join in both to help and to hinder it seemed.

Alfred found himself fighting a group of students and though they were inexperienced, he was outnumbered.

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><p>Francis ran onto the roof and took in the scene in front of him. He ran over to where Matthew lay but someone grabbed him when he got close. He looked up at the man and slapped him across the face. The man looked confused but then glared at Francis and drew back his fist.<p>

Francis winced but felt the man let go instead of pain. He looked up to see Antonio looking at him, green eyes on fire with angry passion. "Francis you idiot!" He shouted, blocking the hits of the man he had stopped hitting his friend.

"I am a lover not a fighter!" Francis shouted in response, yelping every time Antonio nearly got hit.

Antonio turned away from the Frenchman so he could fight properly. "Go find Ludwig and Gil! They can help! ...GO!" Francis turned and fled from the fighting to find his friends.

Antonio continued fighting with the man in front of him. He was definitely too old to be a student! As good a fighter the Spaniard was, the fight was not a fair one due to the other man's height and strength.

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><p>Lovino stared at the chaos around him, he had only came up to see what was happening. Beside him Feliciano was crying hysterically. Suddenly a fight between two people got close to where he was standing with the others, a man far too big to be a student held one of the people who came to defend the people at the front in a headlock. Lovino recognised him as the guy who had just joined.<p>

His large green eyes looked up to Lovino, filled with pain and desperation as his face darkened due to lack of oxygen. Behind him Feliciano had begun screaming and the Spaniard's thrashing made large guy turn so he was facing away from the crowd. Lovino looked at the huge guy's back and felt something inside him snap.

"CHIGI!" He screamed as he forcefully head-butted the man's back with all the strength he could muster.

It worked as the large man dropped the teen he was holding and turned to Lovino angrily. Lovino gulped and backed up but the Spanish man delivered a forceful hit to the man's temple which knocked him unconscious.

Antonio turned and smiled at Lovino gratefully. "Gracias amigo!" He grinned thankfully then turned and ran to where Alfred was up against a whole group.

Lovino turned to Feliciano, about to declare that they were leaving, when someone grabbed him by the neck. Feliciano screamed and ran to him yelling "Fratello!" but another man held grabbed him too. The southern Italian cursed angrily but stopped as he felt himself getting dizzy when a large blonde man stood in front of him and drew back his fist. The fist flew over his head and suddenly Lovino could breathe.

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><p>Ludwig ran out onto the roof, he had been told by Francis the basics of the situation and ran up to the roof as fast as he could. He burst out onto the concrete and stared at the pandemonium in front of him. Students and non-students were fighting everywhere and the air was filled with screaming.<p>

Ludwig turned to see a man who was definitely not a student grab someone who had been in his lessons earlier by the throat from behind and another grab his brother.

Ludwig heard him scream for his brother in Italian and ran forwards towards the two. He swiftly delivered two hits to the men's faces and stood back as they fell to the ground, unconscious.

"Ve, Lovino are you okay?" One of the brothers asked, hugging the other who nodded whilst rubbing his throat, seemingly in a state of shock. Both of them looked up at Ludwig who coughed awkwardly. Feliciano jumped up, wrapping his arms around the German and kissing him on the cheek. "Ve~ my hero!" He said happily and Ludwig blushed deeply.

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><p>All in all the fight was not going well for team Matthew. Arthur lay on the ground, unconscious as Alfred attempted to take on an entire group. The American was badly hurt but still fighting when a well-placed hit forced him over and he heard a loud snap from his left wrist as he landed on it. He forced himself back up but it was a lot harder to fight with only one hand and he took a lot more hits.<p>

Matthew was slipping in and out of consciousness as he bled into the ground, Danny occasionally stepping on his arms or stomach to hear him scream out, laughing at how "Weak and Pathetic" he was.

Antonio was able to stand tall but he had received quite a few hits to the head and chest, making him dizzy.

Feliciano had been trying to help Ludwig when he got hit in the chest by a powerful blow, forcing him to lie on his back. Lovino had left a long time ago but Feliciano had returned to help. He tried to get up but someone kicked him in the chest. The Italian screamed as his ribs took the brunt of the hit. Thankfully at this point Ludwig turned round and knocked the attacker out before reaching down and picking up the Italian bridal-style, he leaned Feliciano against the fence before resuming a fight against 3 men who were taller than even he was.

The German was taking a heavy beating but refused to go down. He punched and kicked despite the pain, although there were just too many. Some students had come forward and at first Ludwig had been relieved and thought they were there to help but he was wrong. They began to hit at him as well.

Feliciano cried from where he was leaning against the fence as he saw Ludwig getting hurt.

The sound of the roof door slamming open could be heard echoing over the chaos, if only slightly.

Stepping forward through the crowd was a highly furious Gilbert, blood red eyes seemed to emanate pure fury. Even Francis looked terrified in his wake.

* * *

><p>Gilbert shook with absolute anger as he walked up to the gang at the front. He saw Matthew lying on the ground and the boy standing above him.<p>

Danny raised his food, about to stand on Matthew's arm once again when Gilbert propelled himself forward and hit him in the face, feeling the distinct crunch of bones breaking beneath his fist as Danny's nose broke.

The Cuban boy reeled back for a moment and then he turned to Gilbert. He went to hit the Silver-haired man but Gilbert beat him to it. Slamming his fist once more into the Cuban's mouth. Danny's head snapped back from the hit and he fell to the ground. He turned around on all fours and spat something small and white onto the ground in a puddle of blood and then felt the gap where the tooth used to be in his mouth.

He looked up at Gilbert who then kicked the Cuban in the stomach, then again, before kicking him in the side, forcing him to roll over.

He grabbed Danny by the front of the shirt and slammed him up against the fence. "No-one hurts my Birdie. You fucking hear me?" He growled, punching the man in the face again.

And again. And again, until he felt a gentle hand on his arm stop him. He dropped the Cuban who was out cold by the time he hit the ground and turned to face whoever had stopped him, only to look into a pair of deep purple-blue eyes that weren't hidden by glasses.

"Birdie." He whispered, his rage gone in an instant. Matthew looked up into his face and stumbled slightly. His face covered in blood and bruises, he looked as delicate as paper. He stumbled again, this time falling against Gilbert who fell to the ground with him, cradling the smaller boy in his lap.

Around him the fight slowed to a stop once people realised Danny was unconscious. Everyone turned to face where Danny lay in a pool of his own blood and Matthew sat in Gilbert's lap, leaning against him as Gilbert softly stroked his hair. Then Francis turned and slapped the man he had been fighting with, swearing at him in French.

When they realised that their leader was out, the remaining conscious members of Danny's gang ran for the exit and the students who had been watching or joining in left too. The ones who had stayed to defend the group slowly headed to where the Canadian lay and looked at each other, a silent agreement passed that a friendship had now been formed between them. 

* * *

><p><strong>That. Took. Hours.<strong>

**How did I do? D:**

**I seriously have no idea what to think of this...**

**It was a lot harder to write than I thought it was going to be...**

**Thanks for reading **

**I love my readers :D**

**This is not the end! There will be more to this story! Though not a lot...**

**D:**

**But I have some ideas for stories to do after which should be cool :D  
><strong>

**Reviewers get to kick Danny in the crotch!**

****

**~Ore-sama  
><strong>


	10. Hospital Gown

**Hey! I am back! Woah the response on this story is like O_O ...I am amazed! ZOMG I love you guys! :D Like, Ich liebe dich, ja? I LOVE YOU LIKE SWITZERLAND LOVES GUNS! To: Krystal, Response to your review at the end as you decided to go all ninja on my ass xD My first anonymous reviewer :O So exciting! xD Ahh my readers, reviewers and general alerters are so goddamn awesome! **

**So I was thinking of writing out Alfred and Arthur's date as a separate chapter...hmm any ideas? like as a separate story kinda thing... :/ **

**Anywho...Onwards!**

* * *

><p>Matthew leaned tiredly against the hospital-bed headrest, the police had just left after their final interview and he had been told that today he was going home after nearly two weeks. His brother was meeting him with the car and Gilbert had agreed to be the one to take Matthew out of the hospital, but first he had to get the casts off of his arms. After a load of X-ray's it had been found that his wrists were damaged and that he would need a cast as well as bandages on most of his cuts as they had reopened. The hospital had also referred him to a psychiatrist and Matthew would be required to go to counselling every couple of weeks after they discovered the cuts which Matthew wasn't especially pleased about but he could always just not show up if he didn't want to.<p>

The Canadian was secretly glad he had the large set of bandages from his wrists to his elbows as it had meant that his brother hadn't been able to see his cuts. Though Matthew supposed that that would all change, as all Matthew had to wear was the hospital gown he would be going home in and that had short sleeves…

Matthew sighed as a nurse in her mid-thirties came in with a metal table with wheels on which there sat what looked like a small electronic pizza-cutter except with a ridged edge. The nurse then left again and pushed into the room a wheelchair, sat in which was a rather gleeful silver haired young man who held his arms in the air cheering happily.

"You are awesome nursey! Danke!" He laughed as he climbed out of the chair. "Hey Birdie! I shall be your escort this evening." He said in mock seriousness, bowing to Matthew jokingly. Matthew laughed and climbed gently out of bed and negotiated himself into the wheelchair. The nurse rolled her eyes at the hyperactive man's antics and picked up the electric rotating blade, motioning to Matthew to put his arm on the small table. The nurse had already explained that he wouldn't feel anything but having something that could cut off Matthew's hand if something went wrong made the Canadian uneasy.

The nurse turned on the device and the blade rotated with a whirring noise. Matthew visibly flinched at this and to reassure him Gilbert wrapped his arms around Matthew's shoulders, bending down to rest his face on top of the Canadian's head.

Matthew relaxed, leaning into the touch a little as the nurse began to press the blade against the plaster bandages. "It's just going to be a bit loud." She warned before turning the machine on. Matthew couldn't help but flinch, it really was loud! And Gilbert wrapped his arms tighter round the Canadian.

"It's okay birdie! Don't worry birdie, kay?" Gilbert muttered reassuringly. Suddenly Matthew jolted and started giggling.

"It tickles!" He giggled but suddenly sobered as his scars were revealed, the deep red streaks showing up brilliantly against his pale skin which hadn't been exposed to light in two weeks. At this, Gilbert began rubbing reassuring circles on Matthew's back as best he could with the wheelchair in the way. Matthew didn't react when the second load of bandages were taken off, instead he averted his eyes and had gone rather pale.

"Birdie?" But Matthew didn't respond. The nurse cleared away her equipment and left to sign some forms and said that Matthew was free to leave when ready but had to sign out at the front desk.

* * *

><p>Gilbert began pushing the wheelchair to the front doors but stopped when he noticed Matthew shaking lightly. The room was quite warm so it couldn't have been from the cold.<p>

Gilbert looked up to the front desk and saw Alfred make his way towards it and a light-bulb went off somewhere. He looked at Matthew again before taking off his big black hoodie and slipping it round Matthew's shoulders. When Matthew looked up to the East-German, he found himself staring at the man's chin as he faced away from the Canadian. Matthew slipped his arms into the hoodie and stared up at the man in awe. "Thank you." He whispered, tears of gratitude filling his eyes.

He got no response from Gilbert who started pushing the wheelchair once again, though that didn't stop him staring. Gilbert was wearing a black tank-top which showed off his muscular body quite well. Though that wasn't the only thing it showed as he looked to the man's inner-arms he could see the scars lining up the insides of them, faded with age but still visible. Matthew looked up at the man's face and could see a light blush adorning his cheeks. _He probably feels like everyone's staring at him, judging him. That's how I felt before I got the bandages on…_

They got to the front desk and filled out all the paperwork required to leave and headed outside the hospital.

* * *

><p>They got to the car-park and found Arthur leaning against Alfred's rather rusty old truck. He had been released not long before Matthew, though it was against-medical-advice due to Arthur's fractured rib and broken wrist. His face was also rather badly bruised though Matthew couldn't say that he looked any better himself. Honestly, nearly everyone had been in hospital for some duration of time and everyone had been interviewed over and over again by police about the events of that afternoon.<p>

It was a wonder that no-one was killed, though there were a couple of close-calls. The happy-go-lucky Italian in Matthew's class was still in hospital and by the looks of the car next to Alfred's truck, Ludwig had gone to visit him again. Matthew laughed to himself at the image of the two together while everyone negotiated around so that everyone would fit in the truck while Gilbert took the wheelchair back.

* * *

><p>When the truck stopped outside Matthew and Alfred's house, only Matthew and Gilbert got out. Matthew looked at Alfred in confusion and Alfred rubbed his neck sheepishly.<p>

"Hey Matt, would it be totally unfair of me to go out with Arthur?" He asked. Matthew's response was cut off by an angry British man.

"What? ...You bloody berk! You can't just leave him, he's your brother! And he just got out of hospital and-"

"It's fine." Matthew answered. Honestly, Alfred would probably just suggest they play videogames or something and Matt could tell that his brother really wanted to go.

Alfred looked surprised for a moment then smiled hesitantly. "Are you sure? Are you going to be okay by yourself?" Matthew nodded hesitantly, when Gilbert threw an arm round Matthew's shoulders.

"The awesome birdie will be accompanied by awesomeness itself! I'll make sure he's fine." Gilbert grinned at Alfred who now looked suspicious.

"Al, just go. It will be fine!" Matthew urged. Alfred sighed then smiled.

"Fine. But if you let him get hurt…" Alfred threatened, a dark look taking over his face.

Gilbert waved his hand, "I know, I know. We'll be fine. I am awesome at looking after people!" Gilbert laughed arrogantly and Alfred decided to leave the two, Gilbert laughing with his arm still round Matthew's shoulders and Matthew blushing but smiling, wearing Gilbert's massive hoodie over the hospital gown.

* * *

><p>Gilbert led the way into Matthew's house and followed the Canadian up the stairs into his room. He was about to sit down when Matthew looked up at him. "Uh…Gil I was kinda hoping to get changed…" He said, motioning to the hospital nighty he was still wearing. Gilbert laughed awkwardly and rubbed the back of his head.<p>

"But you look cute in a dress!" Gilbert laughed though stopped as he saw Matthew reach for a hockey stick. "But if you're sure, I'll just go get Gilbird and be right back!" He said, remembering he had left his feathered friend with Antonio while he got Matthew from the hospital. Matthew smiled in acknowledgement and after assurances that his birdie would be fine changing by himself, Gilbert left and headed across to his own house.

* * *

><p>Gilbert walked back towards Matthew's house, Gilbird safely tucked in his hair and he had grabbed another of his hooded jackets before he had left.<p>

He went into Matthew's house and absent-mindedly walked into the Canadian's bedroom where he saw Matthew standing in nothing but his underwear and Gilbert's hoodie.

Gilbert froze, eyes wide yet unable to look away and Matthew yelped, attempting to cover himself. Gilbert turned around and covered his eyes with one hand, now the colour of beetroot.

"…I'll…I'll wait for you down-downstairs…" He blurted out, hurrying away from the equally embarrassed Canadian.

* * *

><p>Gilbert sat on the sofa in Matthew's living room, the blush still present on his face. He couldn't get the image he had walked in on out of his head. "Birdie…." He said softly.<p>

Matthew finally made his way downstairs and after a few minutes of sitting next to each other awkwardly, Gilbert had suggested they watched a film. They had managed to find a film of Alfred's that was half decent and sat watching it in a rather comfortable silence.

Gilbert turned to point out something funny he had seen to Matthew only to find the Canadian bent awkwardly asleep on the sofa. The East-German sighed and attempted to pull him into a more comfortable position but had somehow ended up with him lying on his back on the sofa with the Canadian resting on his chest, still snoring softly. Gilbert gave in and decided to stay as he was as he was comfortable and Matthew definitely looked rather comfortable.

After a while of watching Matthew sleep soundly, Gilbert shifted slightly and fell asleep with his arms wrapped around the smaller Canadian.

* * *

><p><strong>Gott verdammt I'm so tired right now xD<strong>

**School has started again and it sucks balls. MAJORLY! **

**Updates are gonna be even more insane over the next few weeks thanks to exams D: **

**Though the end of this story is drawing near D: I'm thinking of doing like a side thing for the other chars, like a chapter or two each for their relationships and whatnot but idk... :/**

**I'm sleeping now. xD Night all! **

**Reviewers get to help Spain and Lovino harvest the tomatoes! :D **

**~Oresama**

**To: Krystal**

**Hey you anonymous ninja you! xD Thanks for the review ^-^ **

**Kick away! You could even borrow the Joker's special knife-shoes if you so wished...**

**So true! btw no one hurts birdie! **

**Thanks ^-^ **

**Have a nice day too~**

**~ORESAMA! :D**


	11. Where's my bat?

**Some prequel bits and hints here... I might do a chapter, maybe next chapter, as a prequel thing to tell how the group formed etc... hmm maybe.**

**anyway...enjoy! Oh and this is M rated from here on out!**

* * *

><p>Matthew slowly awoke from his peaceful sleep to find himself more comfortable than he could remember ever having been before. He sighed and nuzzled into the warmth around him. He was lying on something soft and warm and…breathing.<p>

Matthew hesitantly looked up and the sight of a sleeping Gilbert greeted his eyes. The Canadian was surprised and a little confused but was too comfortable to move so decided to just go with it and cuddled up on the man again, falling into a light sleep.

Matthew's peace was disturbed by the sound of the front door opening and then carelessly being shut. The Canadian looked at the window to see it was late morning, nearly afternoon judging by the light of outside. His eyebrows raised, _Alfred has only just got back in? I'm guessing his date went well then… _His suspicions were confirmed by the sight of his brother coming in in the same clothes he was wearing yesterday, though they looked significantly more dishevelled than before…. He also had a giddy grin on his face as he walked through the door which fell and become a look of shock, humour and …something else Matthew couldn't place.

"…GET OFF MY BROTHER YOU PERVERT!" Alfred yelled at about a thousand decibels, shocking Gilbert into consciousness. _Anger. The other emotion was anger._

"Whatthefuck!" Gilbert yelled as he woke up, dazedly looking around. Feeling a weight on him he looked down and saw Matthew sitting up but still leaning against him avoiding his eyes and blushing furiously. The silver-haired man then looked to see an enraged Alfred looking around the room.

"Al what are you-"Matthew started.

"My bat, its here somewhere…" Alfred said angrily. Gilbert looked between the two,

"…a bat? Why would he need-"

"Found it!"

"Gilbert RUN!" Matthew yelled and the German didn't need to be told twice as he bolted to the door, Alfred pursuing after him.

Matthew sighed and fetched Maple out of her hutch. Cuddling her to his chest as he stroked her soft fur. "There's no point in me chasing after, I'll never catch up." He muttered to his rabbit. "Alfred really is too protective over me sometimes…" He added. He thought back to that morning, _Gil stayed with me to make sure I was okay… why? I really don't get it… he's so nice to me. No one's ever treated me like that. I should thank him…what does he like? Pancakes! I'll make pancakes! He seems to really like them, he always smiles really brightly when I make them. He has such a nice smile… when he's genuinely smiling that is… I want to see him smile properly more often. He looks so handsome when he smiles…well he does anyway. I mean, it's almost insane how attractive he is. He has a nice body too…_ Matthew thought back to the hospital when he saw Gilbert in that vest.

"…wait, WHAT?" Matthew gasped when he realised he had just spent the last 10 minutes or so thinking about how attractive he found the German. _I don't like him….do I? I mean, like that… _The tightness of his pants confirmed that for him. _No! No, no, no, no this is bad! _Matthew suddenly felt sick. As soon as Danny had found out about him he had started to attack him for being gay… now would it happen again?

Matthew felt his eyes water at the thought. _Why? Goddammit why? _He decided he would have a shower and think things through after his…physical "problem"… was out of the way.

* * *

><p>~nearly three weeks later~<p>

Francis sighed as he brought a tray of food down to the basement where Gilbert had decided to inhabit. There had been an extra room, in fact there were two extra rooms, but Gilbert still stubbornly refused any room except the basement. He knocked on the door and waited. The silver-haired teen had been adamantly refusing to leave his room for almost two weeks, which included going to get food and showering. Francis knocked again and then opened the door when he was ignored, suddenly more than a little concerned for his friend. He walked into the dark room and saw his friend sitting on the side of the bed with his headphones on and blaring so loud Francis could hear it from the doorway.

The Frenchman walked over to where his friend was sitting and put a hand on the man's shoulder. Gilbert gave a violent jerk and turned to the man with wide eyes, which, even in the dark Francis could see were a little puffy.

Francis put the tray down on the floor and sat next to him, wrapping an arm around him. His concern grew as the German didn't shake it off like he normally would…

"Gilbert this has got to stop! You must tell me what's wrong mon ami! Maybe I can help!"

Gilbert looked like he was about to refuse but seemed to think better of it. "Birdie's avoiding me." He said simply and Francis frowned, about to respond when his friend continued. "At first I was confused and thought I was mistaken but now I'm sure. At school he refuses to look at me and I went over there and his brother said that Birdie was too busy. He also ignores my calls and texts and… oh Gott I've fucked this up and I don't even know what I did!" Gilbert groaned, putting his face in his hands.

Francis thought it over, Matthew didn't seem the type to ignore someone for no reason, and Gilbert couldn't think of anything spectacular he'd done to make Matthew avoid him…

"…l'amour works in strange ways." He muttered, the situation dawning on him.

"Francis…" Gilbert growled. He was not in the mood for the Frenchman's ramblings on "l'amour"

Said Frenchman suddenly thought of an idea. "We need a party!" Francis grinned. "This weekend, a big one with everyone so that everyone can let loose. Everyone's been acting so serious since the whole roof catastrophe." It was true, ever since then everyone had been in a really bad mood and barely spoke to each other. A party was just what everyone needed. Gilbert thought the idea over for a moment then smiled slightly.

"You know what, French Fry? I think that might actually be a good idea." It would at least take his mind off everything. Francis sighed in relief.

"Thank god I thought you'd never cheer up! Even Gilbird has been depressed! First thing's first we need alcohol and I'll get the word out. Actually, first you need a shower because mon dieu Gilbert you stink." Gilbert laughed and looked over to his little bird. Francis was right, he had been looking down lately.

"Okay, you're right. Gott Verdammt, I hate saying that to you. See, this is why me and Antonio call you Mother." It was Francis's turn to laugh now. It was a running joke that Francis was the mother, Ludwig the father and Gilbert and Antonio were the children.

The two got up to go when Francis found himself pulled into a hug. "Thanks Francis." Gilbert muttered and Francis smiled, knowing that if he ever brought this up in the future Gilbert would be willing to swear on his life that it never happened. They separated and headed out of the room, Gilbert heading to the shower and Francis headed to the kitchen to think.

* * *

><p>Francis entered the kitchen and leaned against one of the kitchen counter. Seeing Gilbert like that had shaken Francis more than he would care to admit. In fact, the last time he had seen Gilbert like that had been the night they first met. Francis sighed to himself and ran his hands over his face, laughing to himself lightly but not really knowing why.<p>

"You okay amigo?" Antonio asked, putting his arm round Francis' shoulders. Francis smiled at his friend's caring nature.

"Just thinking about how we met…" Francis attempted a smile but it came out as a grimace and Antonio looked confused.

"Me and you? How can you even remember? We were small children…." Francis laughed at this, his parents and Antonio's were business partners so the two grew up as inseparable friends.

"Non, us and them. Gilbert and Ludwig my oblivious friend." All traces of a smile fell off Antonio's face.

"Why are you thinking about that? Surely it depresses you as much it does me." Antonio said sadly, arm tightening a little around Francis who in turn slipped an arm around the Spaniard's waist.

"Why do you think I drink so much mon ami?" Francis responded and Antonio shook his head.

"You're going to ruin your health-"Francis put up a hand to stop the Spaniard and Antonio fell silent. He had lectured his friend enough times on the effects of alcohol. "You didn't answer." Antonio responded. "Why think about that now?"

Francis shrugged. "Just Gil, he's been acting like he did when we met him."

Antonio stiffened. "That's bad…that's really bad. What can we do?" the Spaniard asked, starting to panic.

"We're throwing a party. I think I know how to help; we just need to convince Matthew to come. Or convince Alfred to make him."

"Each answer sounds nearly impossible amigo but I'll help any way I can." Francis smiled at his friend and hugged him before walking to the exit of the kitchen.

"Amigo…" Francis turned to face his friend, "these are different times. Everything's changed, for the better. It's like…we're different people now." He said. It was one of those times where Antonio showed just how wise he could actually be.

Francis shook his head, "I'm still a drunken whore, but now I don't get paid for it…" he muttered as he left the room, heading out to talk to Alfred. Antonio stared after his friend then ran after him, catching him in a tight embrace just before he left the house.

"Things will be okay." Antonio muttered continuously as the two hugged in the doorway.

* * *

><p><strong>...yeah. That... that was...<strong>

**So, there are only a couple chapters or so left of this, unless I do a prequel chapter...**

**Hope you liked, reviewers get to make Axis-themed Bento boxes with Japan!**

**~Oresama**


	12. The Bad Touch

**Hallo! Gott verdammt this is a long chapter! like 3,000 words or something D: was gonna split it into two but it just didn't feel right! Anyway, I just wanted to say that I love my awesome sexy-awesome-hot readers! I also wanted to thank anyone who's reviewed anonymously to either this story or the other. You guys all rock! Anyone who's reviewed, subscribed, or even read to this point! You all rock! Like, kick-ass rock! **

**Anyway... I still don't own anything. Including the song used in this... though I agree, it is their theme tune. And on my ipod the album-art is the bad touch trio xD**

**Onwards with the story!**

* * *

><p>Francis separated from Antonio and headed across the road, wiping his eyes as discreetly as he could. He wrapped his cardigan tighter around himself, wishing he had opted for something warmer than a long top, leggings and a thin cotton cardigan that went to his knees.<p>

Eventually he was stood outside the house opposite his and the Frenchman knocked, setting a calm smile on his face. It was Alfred who opened the door and the only word Francis would use to describe his appearance was 'stressed' with his rumpled t-shirt and baggy jeans, he also had dark patches under his eyes.

"Oh, uh, Francis right? What are you-?" Alfred asked, he kept looking back into the house as if expecting something to come from inside.

Francis put on his infamous smile and winked. "I have decided that I am sick of everyone acting so depressed! So, we across the road have decided to have a party to cheer everyone up again. Everyone is invited of course."

Alfred blinked as he thought it over. The idea of a party sounded nice and it would be just what everyone needed…but…

"Oh come on!" Francis continued when Alfred didn't respond. "You could even bring your petite l'amour with you." He said suggestively while winking again.

"Uhh, I don't know… The idea sounds great and all but, it's just…" Francis motioned for him to continue, "Its Matt. He's been in the weirdest mood for weeks! He won't talk, barely eats and just locks himself in his room with his rabbit! I don't really want to leave him alone even for a night." Alfred said hesitantly. Francis put his arm around the American's shoulders.

"Ahh ma petite américaine. A party is just the thing to cheer little Mathieu up! I'm sure you can convince him to come." Francis winked and patted Alfred on the back. "Tres bien! I knew you'd do it! See you at 8 tonight!" He called out as he ran back towards his own house, not giving Alfred a chance to respond.

Alfred shook his head and went inside. "How the hell am I supposed to do this?"

* * *

><p>Alfred stood with Matthew and Arthur outside the house opposite theirs and was all but ogling his boyfriend who tonight had decided to go full out punk. <em>I wonder if he knows I have a total kink for that stuff? <em>He asked himself as he eyed his boyfriend who had put temporary green and black streaks in his otherwise blond hair, coated his emerald eyes in dark eyeliner and was wearing a ripped top with sleeves held on by safety pins and ripped black skinny jeans which were like a second pair of skin, they were so tight. He also had all his cartilage piercings in and his lip piercing. _I wonder if he has his belly button piercing in…_ Alfred decided to test this theory by wrapping his arms around his boyfriend's slim waist and running his hands over Arthur's belly button where he felt a bump. _There it is! _He grinned as Arthur wriggled out of his grasp.

"Get off me you bloody berk." Arthur muttered, blushing lightly as someone finally opened the door.

Matthew wondered if he could sneak away without his brother noticing but shook his head as he realised the penalty was too high if he got caught. Alfred had coerced Matthew into coming with the threat of disposing of all the Maple syrup in the house for 6 months. Just the thought of it sent shivers down the Canadian's spine.

Matthew averted his violet eyes when the door opened; he had been avoiding Gilbert for weeks. That included all the phone calls and texts from the German man. He knew he was being childish and he felt guilty, especially for making his brother worry but he really was just too scared to face up to the situation. Matthew gulped as Antonio greeted his brother and Arthur; he himself was hiding away behind the duo and hoping not to be noticed.

Unfortunately his wish was not granted and when Antonio greeted him there was something off about the Spaniard, something akin to anger hiding behind his bright smile. _Did I do something to upset him?_ Matthew wondered as he continued into the house. There sure were a lot of people there, most of them were random people from school and he saw a lot of faces that had been on the roof that day.

_I've never been to a party before… what do I do? I'll just follow…_ "Alfred?" Matthew asked, looking around. He couldn't find his brother anywhere. _Damnit. I'll just sit down…. _Matthew decided as he sat on the front-room sofa. As he looked around the room he noticed Antonio walking up to Francis where he was talking to someone in the corner but Matthew couldn't really see who as there was a small group standing in front of him.

* * *

><p>Gilbert laughed at Francis as he came back dejected after trying to seduce a rather angry British teen. He had been sighing about it when Antonio came over.<p>

"Amigos Alfred just arrived with Matthew." He said, looking up at Gilbert, worried that he would go and lock himself in the basement…again.

"…birdie's here? Shit." Gilbert hissed and Francis put an arm around him.

"It'll be fine! We talked about this didn't we? You can talk to him later! For now let's dance." As if on cue the song changed and the three looked to each other wide eyed.

"_**Ha-Ha! Well now we call this the act of mating**__**  
><strong>__**But there are several other very important differences**__**  
><strong>__**Between human beings and animals that you should know about**__**…"**_

"It's our song!" the three called in unison and Gilbert fist-pumped.

"Rules declare we must dance!" Gilbert laughed as he jumped onto the living-room table, pulling Francis up with him and Antonio climbed up after.

The trio sang loudly to the song while performing a mixture of rave-dancing and dramatic hip-thrusting to the beat.

"_**Sweat baby sweat baby sex is a Texas drought**__**  
><strong>__**Me and you do the kind of stuff that only Prince would sing about**__**  
><strong>__**So put your hands down my pants and I'll bet you'll feel nuts**__**  
><strong>__**Yes I'm Siskel, yes I'm Ebert and you're getting two thumbs up.**__**  
><strong>__**You've had enough of two-hand touch you want it rough you're out of bounds**__**  
><strong>__**I want you smothered want you covered like my Waffle House hashbrowns**__**  
><strong>__**Comin' quicker than FedEx never reach an apex just like the Coca-Cola stock you are**__**  
><strong>__**inclined**__**  
><strong>__**To make me rise an hour early just like Daylight Savings Time."**_

Nearly everyone had gathered round to watch the three dancing and some had started doing their own dance at floor level. Ludwig put a hand to his face, partially out of embarrassment and partially to hide his grin. It was good to see his brother back to his usual self again.

When the chorus came on nearly everyone joined in the singing.

"_**You and me baby ain't nothin' but mammals**__**  
><strong>__**So let's do it like they do on the Discovery Channel**__**  
><strong>__**Do it again now**__**  
><strong>__**You and me baby ain't nothin' but mammals**__**  
><strong>__**So let's do it like they do on the Discovery Channel!"**_

The three continued to dance and when the song finished they were all doubled over, laughing until their stomachs hurt and the crowd around them laughed and applauded.

"Gott Verdammt that was awesome!" Gilbert laughed, tears running down his face from the hysterics. They all made their way off the table and when Gilbert turned he saw a red faced Matthew crying with suppressed laughter sitting on the sofa closest to the table.

The German froze with a hesitant smile on his face as he looked at Matthew. "Birdie?" He said quietly and suddenly Matthew realised that Gilbert was looking at him and the two sobered.

The tension was extreme as the two stared into each other's' eyes. Red meeting violet until someone who was dancing nearby bumped into Gilbert, causing him to fall onto the sofa on top of Matthew.

Gilbert blanched, "uh es tut mir leid birdie, I…" He looked up from where he was sat on Matthews lap to find himself only centimetres away from the Canadian's face. The air seemed to grow really warm and Gilbert could practically feel his heart beating in his chest. The Canadian's eyes wandered over the silver-haired man's defined face and they could each feel the hot air from each other's lips against their own as they felt some unknown force pulling them slowly towards each other.

Their lips were so close they could each feel the warmth radiating from the other's face when the harsh bang of something followed by the sound of splintering wood echoed round the house and the two drew away from each other.

Gilbert got up from the chair, "What the fuck is going on?" He yelled and Ludwig came running in.

"It's the person from the roof! He's not alone!"

_Danny. _Matthew felt his stomach drop and his blood freeze and Gilbert swore loudly in German, grabbing Matthew by the hand and dragging him from the room and up the stairs. He didn't stop for what felt like eternity and they both slipped on the stairs a couple of times. Eventually they got to the very top floor which was a single room. An attic bedroom.

Gilbert ripped open the door and pulled Matthew inside, shutting it behind him. He hated running away and being a coward was the lowest of the low on Gilbert's "awesomeness" rankings but he had to protect Matthew, even if it meant throwing away his morals in such a way.

Matthew started to shake, he hadn't finished healing from the last time… and now Danny and his friends were in the house. His thought trail was broken by the feeling of a pair of strong arms being wrapped around his torso, and he felt himself being pulled into Gilbert's lap. "I won't let them hurt you Birdie. You're safe."

* * *

><p>Danny and his friends paraded around the living room. "Where's the little faggot huh?" He called out. "And his fucking psycho boyfriend. " He looked around the room, scrutinizing the crowd. "You three look here I'll check upstairs." He called to his three friends and ran up to the first level. Francis, Antonio and Ludwig were confident in Gilbert's abilities to defend himself and Matthew. <em>He's fought much worse than a teenage boy before.<em> Ludwig thought, a sadistic side of him almost wanted to see Danny finding them. The crowd stood still, the air was tense. That was until one of Danny's gang saw Lovino.

"You! You're that little bitch that hit me!" He yelled, grabbing the Italian by the collar in one hand and with the other he reached into his pocket and withdrew a very sharp and dangerous looking flick-knife. Everyone in the room held their breath at the sight of the deadly object.

"CH-CHIGI!" Lovino screamed as the blade was brought closer to him. The man stopped and the crowd gasped as Antonio punched the man across the side of his face.

"Stay the fuck away from him." The Spaniard hissed as his possessive side awoke within him.

The man's head recoiled and he glared at Antonio. "You will pay for that." He hissed and Antonio gulped as he noticed how much bigger the man was in comparison.

He began to back away but found that he was backed against a wall. The man laughed and raised the hand with the knife held in place. Antonio's heart began to race as he realised that this could be the end of his life. Lovino clutched his brother's shoulders and they both began to sob. Antonio closed his eyes and waited for the pain. He had put so much effort into surviving and now…

A loud '_CLANG' _echoed around the room and when the Spaniard realised he hadn't been hit he opened his eyes and saw his attacker lying on the floor, unconscious with blood running from a broken nose. He heard the sounds of heavy breathing beside him and turned to see the Hungarian girl he had a couple of classes with, arm still raised clutching a frying pan.

"…gracias señorita!" He gasped. He owed this girl his life he realised as he wrapped his arms around her, drawing her into a grateful embrace. "Thank you! Thank you!" He sobbed. Elizaveta laughed and hugged back.

"You're welcome." She smiled and Antonio drew back, kissing her on each cheek. Francis decided to go and find Danny, thinking of ways he could distract him.

Ludwig growled and stepped forward. A strict military air about him. "You break into our home, destroy our property and harm our friends. You will leave now or we will not hold back when hurting you." The Spaniard released the girl and stood by Ludwig.

"I'm almost tempted to go get my axe now…" He laughed and Ludwig smiled,

"Hopefully it won't come to that." The German responded and they both prepared to fight the remaining two men. One was armed with a bat and the other just his hands. Ludwig looked to Antonio and reasoned that he should take the man with the bat seeing as he was the more practised fighter. He went to throw the first punch but found that whenever he got close the man would swing his bat at him. He looked to Antonio and saw the Spaniard throwing punches at his attacker.

Ludwig tried again but when he got too close the bat hit him in the side and pain exploded from just below his ribs. He grit his teeth and went to hit again when a loud crash sounded and the attacker collapsed to an unconscious heap on the floor. Ludwig looked up in shock and his jaw dropped when he saw a shaking Feliciano holding the remains of the living room lamp in his hand. "This wasn't expensive was it?" The Italian asked, indicating the lamp.

* * *

><p>"Go fish." Matthew said simply, holding his cards in front of him. The two had found an old deck of cards in the attic and had thought of a way to pass the time. The room was an old bedroom, fully furnished but no one had wanted it. When the group had moved in they had decided to use it as a guest bedroom and not bothered changing any of the archaic furniture.<p>

Gilbert picked up a card and then put them all on the floor. "Birdie, we need to talk." He stated and Matthew froze. He had been dreading this moment.

"Talk? What abo-"

"Don't give me that bullshit you know exactly what about!" Gilbert yelled and Matthew flinched.

"Gil, I… I'm sorry, I just…I-"Matthew broke off and a lump formed in his throat.

Gilbert sighed, "Why did you avoid me? For fucking weeks I might add!" He said, getting up from the floor and pacing anxiously. "I called and texted! And-"His voice began to break then and he swore in German. Matthew got up as well and reached out to Gilbert, tears beginning to run down his face.

"Gil, please!"

"Show me your arms." Gilbert said sharply. Matthew gaped, and Gilbert repeated the demand.

Hesitantly Matthew pushed up the sleeves of his hoodie, revealing a fresh looking bandage on his upper arms. Gilbert gasped and clutched his head. "Gott verdammt Birdie!" He yelled. "Even if you hated me, I still would have listened! I still… I still would have helped you!" Matthew said nothing and looked away in shame. "I would have done anything to help you Birdie!" He yelled.

Matthew looked up in confusion. "Why?"

"BECAUSE I LOVE YOU YOU DUMMKOPF!" Gilbert shouted.

"Wh-What?" Matthew asked and Gilbert closed the distance between them, grabbing Matthew by the back of the head and kissing him firmly on the lips. Matthew squeaked, _Maple-Hockey!_ Then the shock began to subside and he kissed back just as forcefully. They kissed chastely for a little while then Gilbert licked at Matthew's lips, asking for entrance which Matthew granted. Gilbert slid his tongue between Matthew's soft lips and Matthew moaned lightly as he felt the hot muscle massaging his own tongue. Eventually they had to part for air but after they had caught their breath they began to kiss once more, Matthew running his hands over Gilbert's toned and well-muscled body and Gilbert ran his hands through Matthew's soft hair. Gilbert's hands accidentally brushed Matthew's sensitive curl and the Canadian felt the air around him hotten as he increased the pace of the kiss. Gilbert compensated and suddenly their hands were everywhere on each other. Gilbert slid his hands under the hem of Matthew's shirt and began stroking the soft skin of his stomach and chest when the door flew open.

Into the room stumbled Antonio, attached to him by the lips was Lovino and the two were basically having sex through what little clothing they had left as they stumbled into the room. It was when Antonio picked up Lovino who wrapped his legs around the Spaniard's legs as the Italian's back was slammed against the wall that Gilbert and Matthew decided to make like an Italian and flee.

* * *

><p>The two running from the room and down the stairs to the second floor where they stopped and started laughing which made catching their breath difficult. The two had just started to calm down when the bathroom door beside them opened and out walked a rather dishevelled Francis who was wiping his mouth.<p>

"Francis?" Gilbert asked and Francis turned.

"Ah I see you two made up!" Francis grinned.

"What happened downstairs?" Gilbert asked curiously.

"Ah, last time I checked Luddy and Antonio were sorting out the hooligans downstairs and I went after Danny…" He said evasively.

Gilbert was confused, Francis didn't like to fight…ever. "Did you find him?" He asked and Francis nodded. "…where is he?" He asked and Francis looked back at the bathroom door.

"…you didn't." Matthew and Gilbert said in unified horror. Francis only winked and walked downstairs, leaving a pair of mentally scarred teenagers behind.

"…Birdie?"

"Hm?"

"Ich Liebe dich…"

"Wha-?"

"It means 'I love you'…"

"Oh, Ich liebe dich…too."

Gilbert laughed and hugged Matthew, "Kesesese, I am so teaching you German one day cause you just butchered a freaking awesome language!" Matthew glared at Gilbert, "But it's okay birdie, cause it was cute as hell!" He laughed and kissed Matthew on the lips. Matthew blushed, wrapping his arms around the German and nuzzling into his chest.

* * *

><p><strong>And that's that...<strong>

**xD **

**I reckon there's about 3 or 4 chapters left after this :/ **

**(It keeps extending as I realise I'm being too general in my plans xD)**

**I'll try to remain consistent in my updates but May-June is when I have major exams and IDK if it'll interrupt writing or not. I'll try to write when I can though! It might be okay, I'm just warning you ahead of time xD**

**Any questions, I'll try to answer unless it would give away something I'm going to write up later ;)**

**Haha xD **

**Japan was major impressed by your bento making guys! This week, reviewers get taught "Self-Defence, Hungarian style!" Enjoy!**

**Much love!**

**~Oresama**


	13. The Dream

_**I was able to find time to update at last :D This chapter was going to be about 3 times the size but I cut it off and decided to add the rest to a separate chapter sometime (hopefully) this weekend. (It's all planned and ready to go) :D**  
><em>

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><p><em>Gilbert and Ludwig were running, tearing down the street to the car they knew was parked down the road. The night air was cold but neither could feel it, they were too numb from shock. Ludwig tripped and Gilbert reached for him, picking him up and carrying his eleven year-old brother to the family car. In what felt like forever he finally reached the car and put Ludwig down. His hands were shaking too much and the blood coating his palms made the keys slide about so unlocking the car took too long. Eventually he was able to unlock the car and he put two large bags of what was now all he and his brother owned in the world on the back seats and got in the front while Ludwig got into the back of the car with the bags. When they both had their seatbelts on Gilbert wiped the blood off his palms and onto his trousers and started the car. <em>

_Gilbert would tense every time he saw a police car and only relaxed when they reached the border. He looked up at the rear-view mirror and saw his brother asleep on the back seats at last. He had done nothing but stare ahead almost the entire journey. Gilbert rolled down his window as he pulled up to the toll booth. He threw his change into the metal bucket and the barrier let him through. After another hour or so of driving Gilbert found a cheap hotel and decided it was safe to rest. As he pulled into a parking spot Ludwig began to wake up. _

"_B-bruder? …Where are we?" Ludwig asked sleepily as he looked out of the window to unfamiliar land._

"_Denmark." Gilbert replied as he prepared to get out of the car. He looked down and saw his arms and shirt, as well as parts of his trousers, was covered in blood. Ludwig had some blood on his clothes too but not as much as Gilbert did. "I have a friend here who can get me a job on a cruise ship to America. You'll come too of course, but you're too young to work-"_

"_So are you, I'm not that much younger." Ludwig interrupted. _

"_Fine, you look too young to work. Plus, your voice hasn't even broken yet." Gilbert responded though his voice lacked humour or even a hint of mocking. It was just fact. Ludwig was quiet at this and looked out of the window. _

_The two sat in thoughtful silence until Ludwig spoke up, "Bruder…What's going to happen to us?" _

_Gilbert sighed, "I don't know West. It'll be okay though. You'll always be safe with me. No matter what, I'll always keep you safe."_

* * *

><p>The feeling of movement on his chest woke Gilbert from his dream. <em>Dream? What do you call it when you remember stuff in your sleep? Ah who cares? Totally unawesome stuff to remember anyway. <em>Gilbert shifted and felt a weight on him. He looked down and saw Matthew curled around him. _Major deja-vu going on here…_ Gilbert laughed to himself and began to lightly stroke Matthew's hair. Matthew eventually began to stir and he looked up at Gilbert with a sleepy smile on his face.

"Guten morgen birdie." Gilbert smiled and Matthew leaned up to kiss Gilbert's cheek.

"Morning." He mumbled and Gilbert kissed him softly on the lips. "Mm what time is it?" Matthew asked with a yawn, his voice still thick from sleep.

"No idea." Gilbert replied with another smile, his boyfriend was so cute in the morning!...And, all the time… _I did not inner-squeal at calling him my boyfriend and no one can prove otherwise!_

"Wonder if anyone else is up yet?" Matthew replied, sitting up a little and Gilbert shrugged. After Danny's friends had been thrown out, the police had been called and Danny's unconscious body had been taken away. No one knew what had happened to knock him out and Francis wouldn't say anything other than "The power of l'amour". The police had been trying to catch Danny after the incident on the roof but before tonight he had been under-the-radar, so to speak. After that the party had died down and most people had fallen asleep on make-shift floor beds, sofas and bedrooms. Gilbert and Matthew were both lying in Gilbert's basement/bedroom in his double bed where they had fallen asleep while cuddling up together.

"We should go upstairs soon. Besides, Francis will want to know about us, I think that was his plan from the start of this whole party thing." Matthew hummed in agreement and reluctantly they both untangled from each other and headed upstairs. Getting to the living-room was a little tricky as the floor was covered in people sleeping but eventually they got to the kitchen where Francis and Ludwig were drinking coffee.

"Hey." Gilbert said as he walked into the kitchen and poured himself a cup of coffee. "Want some, birdie?" Matthew nodded and Gilbert got out another cup which he filled and handed to Matthew.

"Bruder? Are you okay" Ludwig asked and suddenly Gilbert felt everyone looking at him.

"Ehh fine, West, why?" He replied nonchalantly.

"You look…ill." Ludwig responded, his usual stoic façade slipping with worry for his brother.

"...Ich träumte Dänemark." Gilbert responded quietly and Ludwig blanched.

"Oh...Are you?"

"Fine." Gilbert said simply, drinking his coffee in one go.

After a tense silence Gilbert decided to speak up. "We have news!" He said, a little too loudly but he didn't care.

"News?" Francis asked, looking at Matthew with a knowing smirk.

Gilbert nodded and grabbed said Canadian by the wrist and pulling him close. "I've caught myself a cute little bird!"

"You found Gilbird ages ago…" Gilbert face-palmed at his brother's obliviousness.

"Seriously West? You're nearly as bad as Antonio!"

"Who's as bad as me?" Antonio asked curiously from the doorway. Gilbert laughed,

"Toni! You're just in time. I was just telling these two, me and birdie are going out!" Matthew blushed and Gilbert grinned.

"Going out where?" Antonio asked and Gilbert felt the urge to hit his head against a wall. Instead he grabbed Matthew's shoulders and kissed him. Resisting the urge to get more drawn into the kiss, Gilbert pulled away and looked to the people in the room.

"Now do you get it idiots?" Gilbert laughed and after a few seconds of confusion Antonio grinned.

"Oh! Congrats amigo!" He yelled and hugged Gilbert and then hugged Matthew. "I can tell you two will be so happy together!" He grinned. Gilbert turned to Ludwig hesitantly.

"Bruder…?" Gilbert asked nervously and Ludwig smiled,

"I'm happy for you both." Relief washed over Gilbert and he wrapped his arms around his brother.

"Danke bruder." He muttered before pulling away and hugging Matthew to him.

"…Matt?" Matthew turned at the sound of his name and saw Alfred standing in the doorway beside Antonio. He had left the party with Arthur after the police had taken Danny away and they had stayed at Matthew and Alfred's place last night.

"What are you doing here?" He asked, taking in Alfred's look of despair.

"Mom and dad phoned and…I mentioned Arthur, they want to meet him, so, they're coming down next weekend."

* * *

><p><strong>BAM! <strong>

**xD **

**So...the parents are coming down :O **

**Next chapter is planned and ready to go, just need to write it xD**

**This story **

**When I started it was going to be about 5 chapters XD now look! I love writing it and I fekking love my reviewers! and readers! and alerters! and favers! seriously, love you all ^-^ **

**Shall be sad when it ends xD but also weirdly proud of myself for having finished something like this xD **

**Kay imma go to bed, am angry. /Begin Rant/ Why do people assume that just 'cause someone is different or loud or self-confident that they aren't intelligent. Seriously! The amount of people who judge someone to be stupid because they look a little different. WTF. Even psychologists believe that non-conformists have higher levels of intelligence! My teachers always assume I'm just some arrogant, narrow-minded delinquent. I'll admit to being arrogant, I am. I don't care, I'm awesome. Sometimes I act like a delinquent but that's only because I get so pissed off with how people are treated. ALSO why do "popular" people always say "OMG you're wasting your life on the computer, you're such a loser!" and then go spend their entire day on facebook? WHUTDAFUK? /Rant over/**

**Anywho...**

**Night all xD**

**Translatings xD**

**Ich träumte Dänemark - I dreamed about Denmark**

**Reviewers get to hug Canada! (Though be careful with the hands as Prussia is protective...very protective)**

**Just wondering, is anyone here Polish? Or know what it's like to live in Poland? xD **

**Am thinking of moving there in a couple of years and was just wondering what it was like :P **

**~Oresama**


	14. Mutti

**Basically I wrote a HENCH chapter this time (like 6000+ words) so I decided to split it into 2 chapters so you get 2 updates instantly! :D Enjoy! **

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><p>Matthew shifted in the double bed; reaching out to snuggle up to his boyfriend only to find that he was alone. <em>Guess I wasn't the only one who couldn't sleep…<em>

He sat up and looked around the dark bedroom he had stayed in every night since the party. He found he just couldn't bear to sleep alone and had even brought Maple's cage over to their house (with everyone's permission, of course). The two hadn't moved any further than kissing and soft touches yet but both enjoyed sleeping next to each other. Even with the lights off Matthew could see the large Prussian flag Gilbert had hung on the wall, inspired by Matthew's Canadian flag idea, which, incidentally took up the wall next to the Prussian flag. Apart from that the room had a bed, wardrobe and mirror as well as Gilbert's TV and gaming equipment. Other than the wires and various electronic gadgets lying about the room was surprisingly tidy. _Surprising? More like shocking…_

The Canadian looked at the digital clock on the floor beside the bed and found it to be about one in the morning. _Why is he up and about so late? _Matthew wondered as he sat up in bed. Deciding to get a glass of water, Matthew headed upstairs to the kitchen.

"Gil?" He called out quietly as he walked around the rooms, but he didn't get a response. He went to the kitchen and poured himself some water. The cool liquid stung in his throat, alerting Matthew to just how warm the house was. He took another sip and placed the glass on the counter so he could open up the window above the sink.

Now the window was open Matthew could properly see the moon. The night was clear and there were only a few wisps of cloud hovering in the dark abyss. As they were in a populated area Matthew couldn't see many stars but the moon still shone as brilliantly as ever.

"Hallo mutti, it's been a while…" _Wait…wasn't that Gil's voice? Who's he talking to? Doesn't mutti mean mother? Is he on the phone?_

Matthew looked out at the garden and could faintly see his silver-haired boyfriend standing in the garden but the darkness outside made it hard to see him properly. He felt like he was intruding on Gilbert's private conversation but couldn't tear himself away from the window.

"I just wanted to tell you…I'm with someone…someone I-… someone I love." Matthew's heart froze, Gilbert had told him he loved him but hearing him tell someone else just made it all the more real. Gilbert's voice was faint because of the distance; in fact it was nearly as hard to hear him as it was to see him…

"His name's Matthew, and yes he's a guy. I don't care what you think mutti. I especially don't care what **he** thinks." There was anger in his voice now. But not real anger, it sounded more bitter and sad.

"I just…I'm happy and I'd hope you could appreciate that." Matthew could feel tears welling up in his eyes, _Gil really does love me._

He heard a soft sigh coming from the window and saw Gilbert run a hand over his face.

"I guess you were right about me taking after my father, but, at least I didn't take after you. I thought West had but it is only in looks that he is like you… Guten nacht mutti."

Not wanting to have been caught eavesdropping, Matthew quickly headed back to the bedroom and climbed under the covers. After a while he felt the bed next to him droop and a strong pair of arms wrapped around his waist.

_I wonder what that was about… Did Gil just come out to his parents? I don't get it…. I don't think his mother is very accepting… I don't know, Gil is very secretive._

Matthew started to relax into the other's touch, the warmth was like a sense of security and he slowly felt himself drift off to sleep when he remembered the reason he's woken up in the first place.

_My parents are coming down next week._

* * *

><p>Matthew got out of the dark German car and Gilbert followed shortly after. As Matthew had been staying over, Ludwig had driven him to school so, one-by-one everyone else climbed out of the car and they headed across the road to the school building together, Gilbert holding Matthew's hand tightly.<p>

When they got to the building they all thanked Ludwig and headed off to find friends, get to lockers and such. Gil and Matthew decided to go to the school field as they both had a morning without lessons. They found a small wooden bench in the sun and decided to spend their morning there. Gilbert was the first to sit down and he pulled Matthew onto his lap.

"Eh? Gil! We're in public!" Matthew blushed, looking around in case anyone was watching.

"So?" Matthew didn't have an answer so he contented himself with leaning back against his boyfriend's chest, blushing like mad. The morning was quite sunny and Matthew felt his eyes drooping. Judging by Gilbert's steady breathing, he was probably as close to falling asleep as Matthew was.

"PERFECT!"

"Wha-?"

"MAPLE!"

The two looked up and in front of them stood a group of about 5 students, cameras in their hands and flashing.

"What the…STOP TAKING PICTURES OF US!" Gilbert yelled, putting Matthew down on the bench and standing up defensively.

"Who can tell me what we have here?" The person in front of the group called out, completely ignoring Gil's yell of "Don't ignore me!" She was a girl, pretty but with a boyish charm about her. Her effeminate side was shown by the flower in her wavy brown hair.

"Ah it is hard to say, Miss Eliza." Said a short boy with dark, expressionless eyes and even darker hair, "the personality is complex. I would say tsundere but it seems more complicated than that…."

"-Mein awesomeness is talking to you!-"

"Although it is obvious which one is Seme and which is Uke." He finished, looking back to the leader for confirmation.

"Well done Kiku! Very good, it's easy to just pass someone off as one genre type but it is definitely more complicated here."

"E-excuse me?" Matthew asked nervously and everyone turned to him. "Who….are you?" He asked with a blush.

Everyone had to suppress an 'aww' at that point and Elizaveta had to wipe tears from her eyes.

"So cute! We work for a magazine specializing in…male bonds. We would like very much to feature you two in this month's magazine!" Elizaveta said happily, though the grin held more than just a hint of danger.

Gilbert sat back down on the bench beside Matthew and put his arm around the Canadian's shoulders. "What would we have to do?" The East-German asked suspiciously.

"Oh just some photo-shoots and a couple of interviews." Eliza replied and Gilbert frowned at the evasive answer.

"I don't know… what do you think Birdie?" Gilbert asked and Matthew shrugged.

"It sounds like it could be fun, I guess." He said quietly and the group of otakus started squealing.

Gilbert sighed in resignation. "Fine. We'll do it. If birdie is okay with it I guess I am too. You can begin weeping in gratitude now." He said and the group laughed lightly though it became awkward when they realised he wasn't joking.

They arranged a time and before Matthew knew it he was being held bridal-style by Gilbert while people around him took photos.

* * *

><p>"How did they talk us into this?" Matthew asked and Gilbert laughed, the situation was ridiculous. They had done a number of different poses and such (some they had immediately declined and were suspicious if they could even <strong>publish<strong> that kind of stuff).

Next were the interviews and the pair found themselves sat in front of Elizaveta while a girl with dark brown pigtails acted as the scribe in the corner. They were sat next to each other but Gilbert had his arm around Matthew and they were practically joined at the hip.

"So guys," Elizaveta began. She had a sheet of potential questions to ask in front of her and she carefully selected those less likely to scare the couple off when beginning. "How did you two meet?"

Matthew thought back to the arrogant teenager and his younger brother in his and Al's front room.

"Well," Matthew began, wondering how to word his answer. "Gil had just moved in opposite and I was asleep on the sofa when my idiot brother came running in talking about his new boyfriend and he had forgotten to lock the door. Suddenly we hear yelling and dogs are running into our living room and then Gilbert's younger brother came in."

Gilbert laughed fondly at the memory, "oh yeah! I remember. I went to find West and then I walk in and he's talking to you and your brother. Then he left and I said hallo and told you to come over und say hallo."

Elizaveta at this point was staring at the two wide-eyed. "A typical romance!" She squealed. "And did you go over?" She asked and they both nodded.

"I made them pancakes to welcome them to the neighbourhood." Matthew said and Gilbert's eyes shone.

"This guy makes THE best pancakes ever. They are seriously amazing." Matthew blushed at the compliments which only made things worse for him as Eliza began squealing and Gilbert hugged him closer.

"Okay, next question." Eliza continued, "What would you say is your sexuality?" Gil thought for a moment and Matthew blushed.

"I guess, I'm gay. I mean, I've never dated girls and I never really thought about it but I haven't ever really liked a girl and… yeah. I would say gay." Matthew said nervously. He'd never really told anyone before, though, no one had ever asked.

"For me, whether someone's a boy or girl doesn't matter." Gilbert said confidently although his accent was stronger while he said it which told Matthew that the question made him nervous.

"Okay," Eliza continued, "how have people been taking your relationship?"

The couple shrugged, "Pretty well. Only one problem so far…" Matthew said, looking to Gilbert nervously. Eliza prompted they continue and Gilbert spoke up.

"Every time we even hold hands in front of Birdie's brother, he tries to kill me."

"He does not try to kill you."

"That's because he hasn't caught me yet."

"…true." Matthew conceded with a sigh. "He is a little over protective." He explained.

Elizaveta made a thoughtful noise and looked over the questions again. "So, who was your first kiss?"

This made Matthew think, _Does Danny's really count as a kiss? I mean, I tried to but never really managed to… I guess not…_ "Gilbert." Matthew said at last and Gilbert grinned.

"Hell yeah! You're lucky your first kiss was with someone as awesome as me! Kesese, mine was with some guy named Matthias."

Eliza hummed, "so who was the first person you had sex with?" Matthew choked at the question and suddenly the air became incredible tense.

"I…No…What?...But…" Matthew spluttered and Gilbert shrugged.

"Same guy as my first kiss." _He says as if it's the easiest thing in the world._ Matthew thought angrily, suddenly rather jealous. His glaring didn't go unnoticed and Gilbert kissed him lightly in an attempt to pacify him. "It meant nothing birdie, I promise." He said, hugging the boy to him. And it was true; it hadn't meant anything to Gilbert.

_I just needed to get him to let Ludwig on the ship._ Thought Gilbert sourly.

The bell rang and it was time for Gilbert to go to lessons, although Matthew had another free session. Gilbert got up from the chair and kissed Matthew goodbye before running off as he hadn't even collected his books for the lesson.

Matthew sighed as he watched his boyfriend leave and gently touched his lips which were still tingling from the departure kiss. He said his goodbye's to Eliza and the other girl before heading off to gym. He had applied for the school's hockey club but hadn't told anyone about today's try-outs. He didn't want people to worry seeing as he had just gotten out of hospital.

* * *

><p>Matthew nervously walked through the school canteen, he hadn't eaten in there before and there were so many people everywhere. Eventually he found Gilbert talking to Kiku at a table in the corner. He went over and sat next to his boyfriend and opposite the Japanese teen. "Hallo Birdie!" Gilbert called to him as he sat down and pulled him into a sideways hug, kissing his temple.<p>

Kiku had a large beige envelope in front of him which he indicated to when the hug broke apart.

"These are the photos of this morning, I thought you might like to see them." He said as he pulled them out. Matthew thought they had come out rather well. There were ones of them hugging and a couple of them kissing as well as an individual photo each, one of Gilbert smiling mischievously while holding a sharpie, looking set to draw on the camera lens, the other of Matthew sitting on the floor looking innocent. "As you can see they came out really well. We're going to use this one as a poster." He said, indicating to the picture of Gilbert holding Matthew bridal-style.

The two nodded along, not really sure how they were supposed to respond when Kiku turned another photo which was of Alfred and Arthur kissing. They had their arms around each other except one of Arthur's was extended and he was swearing at the camera. "Ah, this is the cover photo of last month's magazine. It must have gotten mixed in…"

"Isn't that your brother?" Gilbert asked and Matthew nodded. Kiku turned that photo over and revealed one of Ludwig and a smaller Italian eating spaghetti, doing the famous scene from lady and the tramp. "West? And…wait…Isn't that Toni's boyfriend?" Gilbert said in shock. He never knew his brother was a man-stealer.

Canada looked closer at the photo. "No that's his brother. The hair is different, see?" He pointed and Gilbert sighed.

"He never told me he was seeing anyone! I can't believe it! That little- I'm going to talk to him about this!" The East-German said, getting up from the table. "I can't believe I was worried about telling him I was seeing a guy when all along he had one of his own!" Gilbert muttered to himself as he walked away to confront his brother.

When Matthew got over the scene Gilbert had just made, he turned back to the photos. There were a couple of others, some he knew, some he didn't but all male. (Though he had to check with that photo of the polish boy).

"So, Kiku, how long has the magazine been going?" Matthew asked, deciding to start conversation.

Kiku thought for a moment. "Hard to say. We would all write articles online before but we've only just gotten actual models for it. The first models we had were Alfred and Arthur."

"How come?" Matthew asked curiously.

"There just wasn't anyone to model. And there's no need for a magazine like ours when the very idea of being gay is hated and feared." Matthew nodded in agreement.

"Things have changed a lot though." The Canadian said thoughtfully.

"Hai they have. People are less afraid to come out now, the aim of our magazine is to reduce such prejudice and I think it's working." Matthew nodded and suddenly he felt like he was part of something, part of a group working to help others. It felt like he was giving something, just by being happy.

Matthew yawned but winced when he reached his hand up, he had gotten hit a couple of times during the hockey try-outs but had managed to impress the coach who told him to come back in a couple of weeks when he was fully healed.

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><p>Matthew lay in his single bed, unable to sleep. It was so cold without Gilbert there with him. He decided that he should stay in his own bed that night to avoid suspicion if his parents were to come early. He could tell Alfred was having the same problem, tonight would be the first night he had slept alone since the party as well seeing as how Arthur had practically moved in. After Arthur confided in Alfred that he was living alone and that he couldn't afford the rent that month Alfred had immediately set to convincing the British man to move in.<p>

Matthew turned again and stared at the wall. He didn't even have his flag to look at; it was where he longed to be most…in Gilbert's bedroom.

The Canadian sighed and began to think about his week. The rest of the week seemed uneventful compared to the first day, classes and kisses between classes, helping Francis and Antonio cook dinner then fall asleep hugging Gilbert. It was nice, comfortable, it was-

_Why doesn't Gil want to sleep with me? _Matthew thought suddenly. Gilbert hadn't even tried to move things further and hadn't really responded when Matthew had tried. _Maybe he doesn't like how I look… maybe I'm just not attractive. _Matthew groaned and shut his eyes. He hated that little voice in his head, the one that told him he wasn't good enough. The one that hated him.

Eventually Matthew fell into a fitful sleep and all too soon was woken up by his alarm.

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><p><strong>And that was pages 1-7 out of 14 xD next lot to be uploaded either soon or tomorrow morning :O xD <strong>

**Love to you all! **

**~Oresama**

**I haven't had a chance to reply to reviews-**

**I have read every single one, I promise you and I have loved them all! I will respond to them I just usually do it when I've uploaded a chapter but I've been uploading chapters at ridiculous times in the morning and so never really had the chance! I mean, now for example. It's 2am and I have to be up in 3 hours xD (I'll probably upload the next chapter tomorrow actually... then I can reply! GENIUS! :D**

**But yeah. Every review literally brings tears to my eyes! Love them! **

**Every story-alert, fave alert or even when I look at the "read" list I just... SPEECHLESS. **

**No one has ever made me speechless before. Ever. Many have tried and only you guys have succeeded. **


	15. The Shower

**Okay, This is technically the second half of last Chapter (I wrote it all as one) but it turned out about 7,000 in total. This one's gonna be 3-4 K as it is xD **

**No Idea how to edit but the translation/German was wrong last chapter "Ich hab' von Dänemark geträum" was what it was supposed to be :O *dies* anywhooo **

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><p>You could cut the tension in the living room with a knife. Alfred's nervous habit of bouncing his leg had returned so the room was filled with the sounds of muffled jittery thumping. "Al stop it you're making me nervous!" Matthew snapped, biting his thumbnail. Alfred managed to stop his leg but began to sigh at random intervals.<p>

"Why are they even coming? What the hell is their problem, I mean, we've gone this long without someone checking up on us. Just because they found out I'm dating someone…" He trailed off then looked over at Matthew curiously. "Are you going to tell them about Gilbert?" He asked and Matthew nodded.

"It's only fair." Alfred nodded in agreement and went to go get something to eat.

The doorbell rang and Matthew jumped up, nerves buzzing round his body. He went to the door and slowly opened it to reveal Arthur standing on the doorstep, irritable frown in place as always. "It's Arthur!" Matthew called and Alfred ran forward, tackling the Englishman in a hug.

"I missed you so much!" Alfred yelled like a teenage girl, burying his face in Arthur's hair.

"It was only for one night, git. Though, I can't say my night was too pleasant either. Kiku's older brother kept asking me if I had any intention on marrying any member of his family. Then another brother of his kept telling me his country had invented everything. It was quite hectic." Eventually they all settled down and began waiting again, Alfred decided to start pacing the room. While they were waiting Matthew took in Arthur's appearance. He had toned down a little but was still wearing black skinny jeans and a black t-shirt with the satanic star on the front. _I wonder what my parents will think..._

Eventually there was a knock on the door and Matthew got up again. _Is that them? Oh Maple... I haven't seen them in years..._. He opened the door and stood before him was a woman who was a little taller than he was, with long blonde hair with a fly-away bit at the top like Alfred' looked exactly like the louder, more hyperactive brother. Behind her was a man of Matthew's height who had the same colour hair as Matthew but it was short and fashionably cut and who looked quiet but not in the way Matthew was, it was more of a cold callousness.

"Hello? Is this the right house? I'm looking for my son, Alfred…" The woman began. Matthew glared and pinched the bridge of his nose. _And so it begins..._

"This is the right house."

"Alfred?"

"No. Your other son, Matthew." He said, turning and entering the house without a word. _Just kill me now. _He muttered internally.

Matthew sat on the sofa and pulled out his phone, texting Gil to 'Come save him' as his parents entered the room. Alfred stood and immediately their mother hugged him. "Alfred honey! It's been so long! And this…must…be…Arthur." She said hesitantly, taking in Arthur's appearance.

Arthur stood and offered his hand. "Good afternoon ma'am. I must say, the likeness between you and your son is unfathomable. I'm more inclined to judge you as his sister than his mother, you look much too young!" Arthur said charmingly as Matthew and Alfred just stared in shock. Alfred's mother blushed at all the compliments and looked to Alfred.

"Isn't he charming? Make sure you keep a hold of this one Alfred, he'll go quick if you don't." She said with a wink. Matthew just wanted to throw up at the scene and was glad when the door went again. He went to answer it, gaffing internally as his parents, Alfred and Arthur all talked about school and how well they were doing... _Acting as if they had never left. What a load of hosers._

Matthew pulled open the door and nearly passed out at the sight of Gilbert. In a shirt. Complete with tie. "Gil….? What the hell are you wearing?" He asked, suppressing a laugh. Gilbert tugged at his collar uncomfortably.

"Trying to make a good impression. It was West's idea okay?" Gilbert said angrily, tugging on the collar again. Matthew grinned and kissed him at the sweet gesture before pulling him inside. _He looks so... not-__Gilbert_ Matthew had to try extremely hard not to laugh at his boyfriend. He just looked so strange in his black shirt and light blue tie.

"Mom, papa, this is Gilbert...my boyfriend" He said quietly, leading the German to sit next to him on the sofa. Matthew's mother immediately turned to Alfred.

"You didn't tell me your brother was seeing someone!" She said in shock and Alfred just shrugged and said it never came up. Then she started asking the usual, how long? How is the school taking it? Etc. Gilbert was confused the whole time and when Matthew noticed he asked.

"It's nothing I just… you don't care that both your sons are gay?" Gilbert asked and Alfred and Matthew's mother laughed.

"It's a little disappointing that I won't have grandbabies but… It can't be helped. Besides, we've all done a bit of experimenting." She winked. "I remember one time, I was in Barbados and there was this gorgeous waitress…Her name was Monica...or was it Michelle? No. Michelle was that gorgeous Greek girl..." The next 3 hours were spent with Matthew and Alfred shrinking further and further into their chairs out of horror as their mother continued to talk about her exploits with both men and women (sometimes both) while Arthur was uncomfortable but found the situation amusing and Gilbert was trying not to laugh the entire time. Eventually their parents had to leave; apparently the visit was on the way to a business meeting. As soon as the door was shut and they heard the sound of tires fading into the distance everyone sighed and visibly relaxed.

"That was…interesting…" Arthur said, looking mortified. Alfred looked like he was about to cry as Arthur hugged him.

"Mom…Oh my god…" He muttered and Matthew agreed. Gilbert finally snapped and started laughing hysterically until he was on all fours clutching his stomach.

"Oh Mein Gott!" His eyes began to water. "That was the funniest thing!" Suddenly everyone was laughing, partly at the situation and partly to get rid of tension. When everyone had calmed down Gilbert got up off the ground.

"I'm going now, I need to get changed back into my usual awesome self. I can't believe I wore a shirt to your mom's sex-ed class!" Matthew smacked him over the back of the head for the last comment.

"I'll come with you, I need a change of scenery... and some mind-bleach." He muttered and the two headed over the road.

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><p>Gilbert went to go and get changed while Matthew went to the kitchen to help Antonio and Francis cook. Francis was stirring something in a pot on the oven and Antonio was chopping tomatoes. "Can I help? I need something to take my mind off this afternoon…" Matthew asked and Francis pointed to the counter nearest him.<p>

"Sure mon ami, I just need someone to pour the syrup on that cake." Matthew looked and saw a plain sponge and jug filled with heated syrup. He nodded and started carefully tipping the syrup.

"That bad was it?" Antonio asked and Matthew nodded.

"Yes. It was horrible. My mother decided to talk, in detail, about every guy, girl or group she has ever had sex with." Matthew replied with a shiver.

"Onhonhon sounds like a great woman." Francis said with a wink and Matthew sighed.

"…I wonder if I'll ever meet Gil's parents. I mean, I know about his real dad but he said his mum remarried. And I know she knows about me because I heard him talk to her about me on the phone-"

"What?" Francis and Antonio yelled in unison, making Matthew jump, causing him to spill syrup all over the counter and floor.

Matthew looked between the two in confusion. They shared a look then Antonio glared at the countertop as he chopped his tomatoes.

"…on the phone… the other night I-"

"That's not possible." Francis cut in.

"Not unless Hell has phone reception…"

"Toni!" Francis snapped at his friend's outburst. Antonio just growled and continued angrily cutting the tomatoes.

Francis sighed and run his hands through his hair. "Matthew, Gilbert's parent's…well, his real father left his mother for another man, and his mother did re-marry and they had Ludwig, but, they're both dead." Matthew stared open-mouthed. _Dead? Both of them? _

"Dead...?...How did they die?" Matthew found himself asking and he noticed the two tensed.

"You…uh… Gilbert should be the one to tell you that…" Francis muttered nervously. Matthew decided to drop the subject and was lost in thought. _Dead? I wonder how they died… Gilbert really is too secretive_

The sound of footsteps coming towards the kitchen woke Matthew from his trance and he looked up to see Gilbert walking towards him, in normal clothing again.

Matthew went forward to hug Gilbert but had forgotten about the earlier spill and suddenly the world was tilting really quickly. His leg bent awkwardly as he fell and his head hit the ground hard and everything went dark.

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><p>"…ie!...Ma…t…ew….Birdie! Gott Verdammt wake up!" Matthew opened his eyes and everything was blurry. He blinked a few times and the world sharpened and he realised he was looking up into the rather handsome face of his boyfriend. <em>He looks terrified, how long was I out?<em>

When Gilbert saw that Matthew was okay he enveloped him in a tight hug. "Fuck…Fuck! Oh mein Gott birdie never do that to me again!" Gilbert said, hugging Matthew like his life depended on it. Gilbert pulled back and kissed Matthew desperately.

"Gil, I'm fine, really!" Matthew protested and Gilbert calmed down a little.

"You're really fine?" He asked.

"Well, my head hurts a bit, I hurt a little here and there and I'm covered in maple syrup but apart from that…" Matthew muttered and Gilbert laughed in relief. Matthew shifted so that he could stand and Francis and Antonio grabbed him, a hand under a shoulder each, and helped him up. Though as soon as weight was put on Matthew's legs one of them gave out.

"Damnit! Must have landed funny." Matthew hissed angrily. His ribs hurt as well but that was probably more from the Hockey try-outs. "Eh, I need a shower. Do you guys mind if I use yours?" Gilbert laughed,

"Of course no-one minds. But you can't walk…here." He bent down and carefully lifted Matthew bridal-style like they had done in the photo-shoot earlier in the week.

Matthew wanted to protest but he really needed a shower and there was no way he could walk all the way to the bathroom by himself.

Gilbert got to the bathroom and carefully maneuverer the door open, carrying Matthew inside.

He gently put Matthew down and reached into the shower to turn it on, turning the dials until the water temperature was warm but not too hot.

"Are you okay changing?" Gilbert asked and Matthew blushed.

"Y-yes, I think so." Gilbert nodded and turned around. "What are you-?"

"Birdie you just passed out. If you do it again in the shower you could drown or something!" Matthew's blush deepened even further but he couldn't deny the sentiment was sweet.

Matthew removed his glasses and started trying to shift his shirt off of himself without aggravating his injuries further. After the fifth time of hearing Matthew hiss or gasp in pain, Gilbert turned round.

"You can't do this, let me help." He said simply, gently pulling the shirt over his head. "…what happened to your chest?" Gilbert asked and Matthew blanched.

"I…uh…I tried out for …the, the um…hockey team." Matthew said nervously.

"What? Are you crazy! You just got of hospital you ficken dummkopf!" Gilbert said in shock and Matthew turned away.

"I'm sorry! I just…there was a place and they're never available for long! And the coach thought I was really good! I-… I'm sorry." Matthew said sadly and any anger Gilbert had just evaporated instantly.

Gilbert gently wrapped his arms around Matthew's slender waist and kissed his lips softly.

"I'm sorry birdie; I didn't mean to get mad. I just care about you and don't want you getting hurt." Matthew nodded and kissed back before pulling away so he could continue getting ready to get in the shower.

Gilbert slowly undid Matthew's trouser button and slid the clothing down his legs. His breath hitched and his face flushed when he realised his face was at the same height as Matthew's crotch. He stood back up and looked away embarrassedly as Matthew slid his boxers down. He looked to see if Matthew was okay getting into the shower and without being able to stop himself he was ogling his boyfriends body. From his sensual pink lips down his slim chest and stomach down to his "vital regions" and the smooth curve of his ass.

Gilbert felt his pants tighten and he forced himself to look away.

Matthew climbed under the spray of warm water and sighed in contentment. His face still flushed from having changed in front of his boyfriend. _Gilbert saw me naked. I can't believe he actually saw. He probably thinks I'm disgusting. He'll probably never want to touch me again or even go anywhere near me in case he gets contaminated or something._ Matthew failed at stifling a sob at the self-depreciating comments.

"Birdie? Are you okay? What's wrong?" Gilbert's soft voice came from behind the shower door.

"Am I ugly?" Matthew asked quietly and Gilbert walked closer to the shower to make sure he heard properly.

"What? Why the hell would you ask that?" He asked in shock.

"…so I am then." Matthew's voice broke as he said it and his throat felt like it had a lump in it.

"The fuck? Yes birdie, you're hideous. You and your hideous adorable smile, gorgeous eyes and perfect mouth. You're absolutely vile with your gorgeous body and fucking soft hair. How dare you even ask that with your horrible sexy legs and perfect ass?" Gilbert said and Matthew sniffed.

"Are making fun of me?"

"I'm making fun of the question you asked." Gilbert replied. "Why would you even ask that?" He added.

"Well, I just…" He started, suddenly feeling really silly. "We haven't…you-know. And I just…I wondered if it was because of me."

Gilbert sat in silence for a while, "I thought you might be nervous. I didn't want to pressure you into it like that. If you want to have sex, that's fine. Actually, I can state now that any time you want to I would, because, seriously birdie, you're like a constant turn-on."

Matthew's face reddened at this and feeling a bit bold he asked, "Any time?"

"Pretty much."

"Even…now?" He asked nervously and Gilbert sat up.

"As in…now, now?" He asked and Matthew nodded but then realised Gilbert couldn't see him.

"I mean, if you don't want to that's…I just thought…" Gilbert laughed to himself lightly before pulling off his shirt.

"Now is fine by me." He said and Matthew appeared at the entrance to the shower.

"Really?" Gilbert nodded and walked towards Matthew, a hungry look appeared in his eyes as he stared at his boyfriend. Matthew was completely naked and wet, droplets of water making their way down his slim body. Gilbert pressed his lips against Matthew's and Matthew began to kiss back hungrily. Matthew ran his hands through Gilbert's hair as their tongues met. Gilbert ran his hands over Matthew's soft, damp chest and the Canadian moaned lightly as Gilbert gently stroked his nipples.

Bending slightly, Gilbert took one of the pink nubs into his mouth, eliciting another moan from Matthew.

"Fuck…Gil…" He said breathlessly, hastily undoing the German's trousers. Gilbert pulled his trousers off and Matthew pulled down his boxers as Gilbert's mouth moved to his neck.

Gilbert and Matthew's mouth met and they both moved into the shower together. The warm water coating them as hands explored frantically.

Gilbert slid his hands down Matthews soft torso and stroked his inner thighs. Matthew groaned and leaned back against the shower wall. Then, without warning Gilbert slid to his knees and took Matthew's member in his mouth.

Matthew gasped and fisted his hands in Gilbert's damp hair as pleasure rippled through his body.

Gilbert licked at the base of Matthew's member before taking as much as he could into his mouth and sucking slowly while Matthew moaned above him.

"Fuck, birdie you sound so hot." Gilbert moaned and Matthew felt something inside him snap. He pulled Gilbert up and pulled him into a fiery kiss, running his hands down the German's lightly muscular body, feeling the bumps of the muscles on his stomach below his finger-tips. He grabbed Gilbert's member and stroked slowly, leaning his head on the German's shoulder to whisper in his ear.

"Fuck me, please Gil." He whimpered, lightly biting Gilbert's earlobe. Gilbert nodded and ran his hands over Matthew's ass and gently probed his entrance. Carefully he inserted a finger and moved it around, Matthew hissed in discomfort but gradually got used to the feeling. Then Gilbert inserted another finger and began scissoring.

Matthew wrapped his arms around Gilbert's shoulders and buried his face into the crook of his neck. At first out of pain but the pain subsided and it actually started feeling good. "Ah-Gil, more." Matthew whimpered and Gilbert added a third finger and began thrusting. The pain went quickly and Gilbert angled the thrusts of his hands to find the spot that would make Matthew see stars.

"AH! Gil, F-fuck!"

Gilbert smirked and pulled his hands out, preparing to replace them with something bigger and Matthew whined at the loss. Gilbert guided his member and slowly began to push into the tight entrance.

"Agh, Mattie, mein Gott …you feel…so good." Gilbert groaned, panting lightly when he was fully sheathed. Once the pain had become bareable Matthew kissed Gilbert.

"Move." He mumbled against Gilbert's lips and Gilbert didn't need to be told twice. He began thrusting lightly, steadily getting deeper as he angled his thrusts to find Matthew's prostate.

"Gilbert! There-ah!" Matthew moaned loudly as Gilbert hit his prostate dead-on and continued with each thrust he managed to get it. Matthew was now only being supported by the shower wall and the force of Gilbert's thrusts. Soon Matthew was forcing his hips down to meet Gilbert's thrusts and the two rocked together, skin sliding against skin as the warm water beat down on them from the shower and soon it became too much for them as the thrusts became more and more frenzied and desperate.

"Fuck, Gil, I'm gonna…"

"Me too birdie…" Matthew felt the pleasure build up until he came, panting Gilbert's name against his chest and after a couple more thrusts Gilbert filled Matthew with his seed.

The two stood on weak legs beneath the spray of the shower as they tried to regain their breath.

"That…That was…" Matthew started.

"Amazing." Gilbert finished for him and Matthew nodded. Gilbert pulled out of Matthew and the two decided to shower properly this time.

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><p>Matthew lay in Gilbert's bed and suddenly felt really cold. He turned to snuggle against his boyfriend when, with a sigh, he realised he was absent again. Matthew slid out of the bed to go look for him, wincing in the pain from his tailbone and ribs. At least his leg was feeling better.<p>

He somehow managed to get up the stairs and decided to check the garden first. He made his way over to the door and looked out at the dark garden. His suspicions were confirmed as he could see Gilbert standing in the moonlight again.

"…hallo mutti. I know you're probably really pissed, and I'll probably be joining you down there one day but I really don't care. He makes me too happy for me to care." Gilbert spoke to the darkness and it was then that Matthew realised what Gilbert was doing.

Gilbert was praying.

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><p><strong>So...can I just say "no comment" ?<strong>

**No?**

**D:**

**No I can't because SOME PEOPLE (You know who you are) reviewed anonymously :O Which, I love you sneaky bastards as much as other reviewers but it means I have to respond here and just hope you're the type to read A/N's**

**implosionsyum :  
>Your review was too sweet :O Glad you liked the song ;) :D You're awesome! :D<br>Your review made me grin like a crazy person for hours XD  
><strong>

**kurufoxy :  
>Thanks! :D Glad you like the story! :D ^-^<strong>

**Okay now you're just playing dirty ;) Anon AND without a name? It's like you don't want me to respond! But I shall not be so easily deterred! :D  
>Thanks for the review you ninja. xD Here is an update :D Glad you like the story! ^-^<strong>

**~Oresama  
><strong> 


	16. Ludwig, what happened?

**Hey :) I know I said I wouldn't post as much... xD **

**Writing is the greatest way to procrastinate because I still feel productive! "Eh I haven't done any work...but on the plus side I was able to upload a chapter!" :') This chapter is the darkest and I bet I'm gonna get a bucketload of questions and angry peoples *sweatdrops* ...if you kill me you'll never know what happened!**

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><p>Rain showered down from the darkening sky, soaking its way through Matthew's clothes and disguising his tears. Mud that had turned sludge with rain coated his sneakers and the smell of damp wood permeated the air from the old bench he was sat on. The sea could be heard roaring as it crashed into the cliff wall below him. This was his favourite place to think, the little bench at the top of a cliff that overlooked the ocean. It was truly beautiful, the darkness of the sky broken by the few stars that were visible at this time all reflected and distorted on the waves of the ocean.<p>

"It was all a lie. Everything….him. How could I have been so stupid?" Matthew said to no one, his voice broken in sorrow. The rain began to ease up but his tears did not subside.

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><p>Sometime earlier that day…<p>

"Gill get up already!" Matthew laughed, attempting to pull the covers off of his lazy boyfriend.

"Neeeiiiin Birdie, five more minutes bitte!" Gilbert groaned as he grabbed the pillow next to him and lazily threw it at the Canadian. It landed at Matthew's feet and he raised his eyebrows at the action.

"…Oh that is so a declaration of war." Matthew laughed, picking up the pillow and jumping onto the bed to hit his boyfriend with it. "Get out of bed!" He laughed, hitting his boyfriend on the head with the fluffy pillow. Gilbert managed to grab the pillow from under his own head and soon there was a full-out pillow war.

The fight went on for about five minutes but the two got tired and so they sat opposite each other trying to catch their breath while laughing.

"I'm going back to bed." Gilbert declared, flopping back onto the mattress and Matthew threw a pillow at him.

"If you're up in the next five minutes I'll make you breakfast." Gilbert groaned in mock frustration.

"So manipulative!" He joked and Matthew laughed as he went to go make the breakfast.

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><p>It was around lunch when it happened. Matthew and Francis had just served the food and were sat at the table, Matthew next to Gilbert and on the other side of Matthew was Ludwig with Feliciano in his lap. Next to them was Antonio who was also beside Francis, and then it was Gilbert again.<p>

Antonio hugged Francis in thanks for the food and told Gilbert to hug Matthew for him. (Which he did, of course).

"Ve~ Antonio and Francis would make a good couple. Although, Antonio and Fratello are really cute too!" Feliciano said innocently and Francis and Antonio shared a look of horror.

"Non, that's-"

"He's like my Hermana!" Spain said in shock and Gilbert laughed.

"Ve, ...why did Antonio say Francis was his sister?" Feliciano asked.

"Because he looks like a woman." Gilbert, Antonio and Ludwig said in unison and Francis scoffed indignantly.

"I have a beard!" Francis yelled out in defence.

"So do some women." Gilbert responded and everyone laughed, except Francis.

Matthew smiled, he loved this. When they all got together and joked and laughed. It was nice and he was happy to be a part of it. The talk was interrupted by a loud knock at the door.

"It's the police, open the door!" A harsh voice called from outside.

A look passed everyone at the table and Francis quickly rose to get it. Gilbert suddenly looked very pale and Matthew thought Ludwig was going to be sick. "Don't worry amigos, it's probably more questions about the fight-"

"And if it's not?" Gilbert interrupted Antonio nervously and Antonio looked to Ludwig and nodded.

"If it's not…" Ludwig replied, "We stick to the plan." Gilbert looked minutely relieved until Francis walked in through the doorway, pale and shaking.

"Gil…" He whispered and behind him were a couple of police officers. One was holding a gun and the other a set of handcuffs.

"Gilbert Beilschmidt? We are arresting you on suspicion of the murder of Adrian Beilschmidt. You will be held at the nearest police station where you will be detained for questioning. If things don't clear up you'll be held there until you are deported back to Germany to await trial. You have the right to remain silent, anything you do say can and will be used against you in a court of law." The police officer with the handcuffs declared clearly. He was the typical stereotype of an American police officer. Overweight with a moustache and reflective glasses. Gilbert stood shakily and turned around with his hands behind his back.

"Gil?" Matthew asked in shock. Gilbert had his head down and was shaking. Eventually he looked up and his stoic face was betrayed by his crimson eyes which showed nothing but absolute terror. He looked at Matthew and mouthed "I love you." before the handcuffs were clicked into place and the police officer led the shaking teen from the house.

Matthew stood frozen with his mouth open in shock. Everyone else was the same state as the Canadian. Italy was the first to speak. "Ve, Ludwig?" He asked and that was all it took to break the peace. Francis repeatedly swore loudly in French and Antonio broke down in tears. Ludwig grit his teeth but didn't move.

_Gil is…a murderer?_ Matthew thought and suddenly he needed to escape. He turned and bolted out of the house, running until his lungs burned. He only stopped when he reached his destination, a small wooden bench on top of a cliff and that's where he sat when it started to rain, and hours later when it was getting dark he was still sat there.

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><p>Matthew's phone beeped for what was like the thousandth time. He pulled it out with a sigh and decided to check it. There were missed calls from numbers he didn't even know and so many texts they had nearly filled his inbox. There were some from Francis, Antonio, Ludwig, Alfred…even Arthur had texted him. Apparently people were looking for him. He knew he should care but he just couldn't bring himself to. He brought his knees to his chest and rested his head on them. The rain had stopped but he was still soaked and shivering.<p>

"I might get sick and die, wouldn't that be a shame." Matthew muttered in angry sarcasm.

"I can think of some people who would certainly think so." A strong German accent replied behind him and Matthew sat up with a squeak.

"Ludwig? What are you doing here?" The Canadian asked timidly.

"Looking for you. I think we should talk." The stoic German replied, taking a seat on the bench next to Matthew.

"How did you know I'd be here?" Matthew asked curiously and Ludwig smiled slightly.

"It's where Gilbert would have gone." Matthew darkened at the mention of his name and Ludwig sighed. "Matthew, what happened earlier-"

"Did he do it?" Matthew interrupted coldly and Ludwig stiffened.

"Ja." Ludwig answered quietly and Matthew choked, tears forming in his eyes again.

"Brilliant." Matthew muttered sarcastically, hugging his knees tighter to his chest.

"Matthew, please, you don't understand." Ludwig started.

"What is there to understand Ludwig?" Matthew said coldly. His inner world was crashing around him and his patience was non-existent. "I fell in love with a murderer. A murderer and a liar." He said angrily and Ludwig clenched his jaw.

"You're making unfounded assumptions." The German added and Matthew stood up.

"He killed someone! He took someone else's life!" He yelled incredulously and Ludwig stood up too.

"IF HE HADN'T I'D BE DEAD!" Ludwig roared and Matthew froze. "And so would he! And Francis and Antonio! And if he hadn't we would never have come here and so you would probably be dead too! Let's not forget who saved you on the roof a couple of months ago." Ludwig was out of breath now and Matthew stared in shock. Then the Canadian sat on the bench and put his head in his hands.

"This…this is too much. I don't… I don't understand!" He sobbed and Ludwig's gaze softened. He sat next to the Canadian and put a hand on the smaller boy's shaking shoulder.

"Matthew you're soaked." He said simply, slipping his dark coat off his own shoulders and hanging it around Matthew's shoulders. Matthew would have protested had he not been so cold and the coat so warm. _Ludwig is such a nice guy_. Matthew thought as he looked up at the younger German.

"Ludwig, what happened?" He asked quietly and Ludwig relaxed into the bench.

At first, Matthew didn't think the blonde man would respond but finally a pained look came across his face and he began to talk.

"It was back when we lived in Germany. I guess I should start at the beginning, you know Gilbert and I share a mother but not a father?" Matthew nodded, "well, his father left our mutti for another man. This was all before I was born so I don't really know what happened but I think mutti wanted someone who would never do that so she would only date men who were what you might call 'tough'. She used to try to meet men in popular areas for fights and the like. That's where she met mein Vater. He was tough and aggressive and not a very nice man. For some reason mutti liked him and so they got married and then I was born." Ludwig paused, his muscles tense. He was obviously finding it hard to talk about by his expression.

"Everyone always said I looked like Mutti and Gilbert looked like his Vati. That made Mutti dislike Gilbert because he reminded her of her ex-husband and mein Vater didn't like Gilbert because he wasn't his own child. I didn't even realise, I was too young, but Gilbert would get hurt a lot. By mein Vater." Ludwig glared out at the sea at the memories.

"Mein Mutti knew but didn't do anything, she thought it would toughen him up. She would get hurt too. I was the only one that would be left alone from it all."

Matthew's mouth hung open. _Gil used to get hurt by his own step-dad? His mother didn't even… that's horrible!_

Ludwig inhaled shakily; his eyes were glazed with unshed tears.

_Didn't anyone do anything?_

"Our grandfather did, our mother's father." Matthew was startled; he hadn't meant to say it out loud. "He took us in with him and we lived there for a while. But then he died. I don't remember him but Gilbert liked to tell stories about him when we were younger."

Ludwig wrapped his arms around himself and it was then that Matthew realised that Ludwig was about the same age as he was. _I always forget how young he is... He looks and acts so old._

"When he died we moved back with Mutti and Vater. Then…then Mutti died." Ludwig's voice began to break at this point Matthew shifted closer to him. He hugged Ludwig's arm comfortingly; Ludwig had always felt like a brother to him so comforting him just seemed natural.

"How did she die?" Matthew asked quietly, almost scared of the answer.

"He killed her. Mein Vater. He thought she had been having an affair and they got into a fight, he ch-choked her to death. Gil-bert, he tried t-to, to stop-p him but wasn't st-strong enough…and I just…I just sat...and…w-watched." Ludwig choked, wiping away his tears furiously. Matthew was also crying, the story was so horrible.

After a few moments Ludwig was able to compose himself. "He burned the body and told people she had run away and left us with him if they ever asked. After that Gilbert kept getting hurt. I still didn't even realise it was mein Vater who was hurting him. Gilbert kept telling me he was getting into fights with people at school so that I wouldn't worry. Then I walked in one day and…and Gilbert…" Ludwig took a steadying breath. "Gilbert was on the floor und Vater was…choking him. Like with Mutti. He had found a diary of Gilbert's and Gilbert had been talking about someone he liked at school…a boy."

Matthew gasped quietly and Ludwig jumped. He had nearly forgotten the Canadian was there, listening with horrified interest.

"Anyway, I was older then and I managed to pull Vater off of him. Gilbert was almost unconscious. If I had been any longer and he would have been dead." Ludwig said quietly, his blue eyes filled with sorrow.

"Vater was mad at me. Really mad. Started screaming about how I was a disgrace and had no excuse. He said Gilbert had bad genes but that didn't apply for me and that I was just wrong." Ludwig tried to swallow the lump in his throat but to no avail.

"He took me to the shed. Gilbert must have woken up because he followed us in there without us realising. Vater used to keep a gun in the shed for hunting and he told me he would put me out like bad cattle. Before he could, Gilbert hit him with one of his t-tools…a h-hammer. Vater was dead. Then we ran." Ludwig finished with a shuddering sigh. Matthew just sat in shock, what he had just heard was…

There were no words to explain it. His emotions were varied and distorted, but mostly he felt sad. He squeezed Ludwig's arm slightly in an attempt to comfort him. "Thanks for telling me." He muttered quietly. He let go and wiped his face, his hair having stuck to it due to the tears. The strong wind had been too much for Ludwig's hair gel as it sat limply on his forehead, the dark light bleaching it of any colour. "You look like Gilbert. It's hard to tell with your hair up but you do." He wasn't quite sure why he said it, and neither was Ludwig by the look of surprise on his face.

Ludwig allowed a small smile onto his face and he stood from the small, damp bench. "We should go. We'll both get sick if we stay out here. Besides, everyone's out looking for you." Matthew nodded and rose. They both headed into Ludwig's car, sighing in content at the warm interior.

They pulled up outside the house that Matthew had practically moved in to and slowly got out of the car. Ludwig's stoic expression had returned full-force and Matthew wondered whether the group he now lived with were the greatest actors in the world with the way they hid their emotions.

Matthew was about to enter the house when he heard his name being called behind him. He turned and saw a red-faced Alfred running towards him.

"MATTIE YOU ASSHOLE! WHERE THE HELL HAVE YOU BEEN? I AM SO KICKING YOUR ASS WHEN I GET OVER THERE!"

"Maple-hockey!" Matthew whimpered and Alfred grabbed him in a headlock, messing up his hair before he pulled the Canadian into a deathly-tight hug.

"You could have at least replied to my texts goddamnit! I thought-…I thought you were-…" Matthew hugged back, apologising softly.

"Where were you?" Alfred asked softly as Matthew pulled away.

"I had to go and think for a while." Matthew replied.

"You could have chosen somewhere inside! You're freaking soaked!" Alfred exclaimed as he noticed that he too had gotten soaked just by hugging him. "Go get dressed. We can talk later, just don't go and get sick, okay?" He asked in concern and Matthew nodded before going inside his new house and giving Ludwig back his coat and heading downstairs to the basement. The Canadian pulled on some tracksuit bottoms and was about to change into his favourite Maple-leaf Jersey when he saw one of Gilbert's tops on the floor. It was a big navy blue top with the word "AWESOME" in graffiti style font on the front. Matthew laughed at how typically Gilbert it was and pulled it on before snuggling into the large bed.

_The top still smells like him. I wonder how he is… I bet he's so scared. I can't believe everything he's been through and yet he's always smiling. I guess you never really know someone, eh? _He thought to himself. He knew he wouldn't sleep so he spent the night looking around Gilbert's room. Any other person and he would never have done that, but Gilbert himself had gone through Matthew's room multiple times…so it was only fair.

He found a few random things, games, electronic devices he wasn't sure of the use for, a few Panda teddies which surprised the Canadian. Matthew shook his head, laughing lightly. "Will you ever stop surprising me?" He muttered aloud. He looked under the bed and found a mysterious cardboard box. He slid it out from under the bed and lifted the lid, blushing instantly.

_Handcuffs…porn magazines…manga? _Matthew pulled out one of the manga books, began to flick through then dropped it as if it was on fire. _That's worse than the magazines! _Matthew said embarrassedly. He put the lid back on the box and shoved it quickly back under the bed. He was about to leave it when he saw another box but this one was a clear plastic. _Books? Oh it's not more porn manga is it?_ Matthew asked himself in dread as he carefully slid the box out from under the bed. The box had many different books in, notebooks, sketchpads and leather-bound books scattered about. He pulled out one of the sketchpads and flicked through it. There were a couple of pictures of landscapes, a picture of a man that looked like Ludwig but with long hair and towards the end a picture of Matthew… It was Matthew sitting at his own bedroom window, looking up at the sky. It was a rough sketch but had a strange likeness. _I didn't know Gil could draw…Maple, I barely know him at all!_

The next picture was of Matthew asleep in their bed. The one after made Matthew's blush return and he hastily put the sketchbook back. _That was even worse than the manga! Why would Gil draw us having sex? Is that position even possible?_ Matthew shook his head and pulled out one of the leather-bound books.

…_A diary?_

* * *

><p><em><strong>You no kill me, da? <strong>  
><em>

_**I know I keep saying "next chapter is last one!" or whatever but I always end up writing more than I thought I would, by like 3,000 words xD **_

_**So, current plan! **_

_**Next 2 chapters are prologue/diary chapters**_

_**One after is the last one... that's it so far. **_

_**To all my amazing reviewers, Ich liebe dich! **_

_**Also to my anon reviewers (you sneaky bastards) I'll reply with the next chapter cause I'm so tired it hurts. xD I have read every review at least twice! I love them!**_

**_Reviewers get to spy on Alfred and Arthur's next date with Kiku and Elizaveta! _**

**_~Oresama_**

**_P.S. did anyone get the HetaOni reference last chapter? Just wondering :')_**

**_ -You have to have played the game really to get it :/_**

**_anywayyy :') If anyone's a fan of (especially) FullMetalAlchemist an awesome artist has just opened a facebook page (as well as soul eater and stormhawks fanart)_**

**_She's really really freaking good and like really young! Plus she's like the female Italy! (as in, EXACTLY like Italy but with boobs. I bet you're all going to tell her I said that now, aren't you? I'm already considered a pervert! That doesn't need more reinforcement people!) _**

**http :/ / www . facebook . com / rspannerart**

** Seriously you should go see! **

**...don't mention the boobs thing.**

**You're all going to go on just to mention the boobs thing, aren't you?**

**DAMN YOU ALL! **

**(I'm kidding I love you)**


	17. Prequel I

**I'm back! I'm sorry for making you wait so long, I was away in a hell-hole in London where it was too hot and I didn't have an internet connection. So, here's the first prequel chapter. The structure was hell to figure out. **

**So, here's what it is. **

**Italics is the Diary entry which Matthew is reading and the last bit is the memory that Gil has. I will do the rest of the prequel soon which will be from a bit later to him going to America. Sorry for keeping you waiting! As an apology I have written an extra chapter which will be uploaded as a separate story called "The Date" which will be USUK and basically what happened when they went on that date a few chapters ago. It will be rated M. xD And should be up later unless FF decide "Hey it's M rated and has...stuff...in it... LETS BURN THAT BITCH!" ...if that happens, it wont be there...until I reupload it at a later date... *cough* FUK DA POLICE! *cough***

**DO NOT OWN! :O**

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><p>Matthew fiddled with the book in his hands; it was the oldest one in the box.<p>

The book had a deep brown leather cover and the pages were tinted with age. The Canadian opened the cover and written inside the front cover in a messy scrawl was, _"Property of King Gilbert! Anyone who isn't King Gilbert and reading this shall be punished!" _Matthew chuckled lightly and opened to the first page.

"_Hallo! Mein name is Gilbert Beilschmidt! I am nearly six and I am the most awesome person ever! I'm not a real king yet! But I will be one day. And then everyone will have to notice me and praise me and no one can be mean to me because I am the king! _

_I have a little Bruder called Ludwig and he is very boring. He doesn't talk much and likes to chew my toys. Opa gave me this book and told me I have to write every single day so I will always remember everything. Opa is weird. He's a total grumpy stiff as well…but don't tell him I said that. I live with mein Mutti, Bruder and Bruder's Vater. I love Mutti but I don't think she likes me very much. She said my Vater left to betray god and keeps telling me that if I betray god I'll go to hell. That's where all the evil people go and get burned in fire and stuff! I don't want to go there! _

_I don't like Ludwig's Vater. He told me to never call him mein Vater, and I don't want to anyway. He's so unawesome! He really doesn't like me. I don't know what I did but it must have been really horrible. I tried saying sorry to him once and he got really angry… then I had to go to the hospital and Mutti told the nurse I fell down the stairs. I had a cast for a billion years! Okay it wasn't a billion, but it was for a really long time! So unawesome. Opa is taking me back home now so I have to go. Awesome out! "_

Matthew stared at the messy scribble in a mix of shock and horror. He couldn't believe what was written, and with such childish innocence he felt sick just reading it. _He wasn't even six! He was so young and he blamed himself! _His eyes pricked and he wiped them with the back of his hand. He continued reading the rest of the first book and by the time he was done he was nearly sobbing. The rest of the stories had been mostly about school and playing games with Ludwig but every now and then Gilbert would comment on his injuries or his step-father getting angry and it would break the Canadian's heart.

_Maybe I shouldn't read any more of these… they're his private diaries after all…_

Matthew put the diary he was holding back into the box and was about to push it under the bed when another book caught his eye. It was black and worn but the edges of the pages were splattered with the brownish-red of dried blood. Matthew carefully picked it up and flicked it open.

"_Things are getting bad….really bad." _Matthew gulped and continued reading, Gilbert was older in these but not by that much. Six years older maybe? It was hard to tell.

"_Mutti and Ludwig's Vater are fighting a lot more than they used to, and he keeps taking it out on me. I can barely move without it hurting and I think Ludwig's starting to get suspicious. He asked me what was wrong the other day, I told him I was getting into fights. I don't like lying to my Bruder but what can I do? _

_I can't deal with friends because they ask too many questions. Basically, I am alone. I have my Bruder but I don't see a lot of him anymore. He's always studying or training for something. One day I will leave this place and take Ludwig with me. He deserves better than this…lie, this fake happy family. Things are getting hard to deal with now and if it wasn't for Ludwig I probably would have killed myself a long time ago. _

_But I can't leave my Bruder with these people. I have a duty to protect him and I will, no matter what. It's hard to keep smiling but I will always do it. I'll always smile and laugh and tell people I'm awesome because then they won't ask. Won't interfere. This diary is all I have left to talk to and share my secrets with. And this diary holds many of my secrets, and…well here's another one. I cut myself for the first time last night. And…and I liked it. And that scares me. Is the release really worth it? I don't know. But I'll try not to do it again. Ever. Damn, when did life become so unawesome?_

_I'm being called downstairs. I've done something wrong and he's really mad. If I don't survive, I'm sorry Ludwig."_

* * *

><p>"<em>This is bad. I have another secret. A bad one. A really really bad one. If anyone finds out….<em>

_I can't believe this has happened. Ficken holl! Why does this have to happen? Why does God hate me? He made me look like a demon, live with demons and now I've become one. I have to stay away from Ludwig, I don't want to contaminate him. I made a friend, a boy. His name is Rodereich and I really like him. But…something bad happened. I think I like him too much. I like him like Mutti used to like Ludwig's Vater, before they started arguing. Maybe if I keep liking him we'll argue and hurt each other like Mutti and Ludwig's Vater. I don't want to go to hell. I hurt myself again, and this time it felt good. I needed to do it, I deserve it! I deserve to hurt! I'm disgusting. _

_I'm going to pray now, hopefully it'll be enough."_

* * *

><p>"<em>Mutti is dead. He killed her. Ludwig's Vater killed her. He said if I tell anyone then he'll kill Ludwig. I told him that if he touches Ludwig I'll kill him. I am writing this down as a promise, if he tries to hurt Ludwig, I will kill him. He will not hurt my Bruder.<em>

_I can't believe she's dead…_

_I don't know how to feel. I feel…sad? Scared? I don't know. I tried! I tried to save her! I really did, I promise! I pulled his arms and kept pulling but I wasn't strong enough. I just… I couldn't save her. I tried… I guess, I feel weak. Pathetic really, I couldn't even save my own Mutti. But I will protect my Bruder no matter what._

_I have to get stronger."_

Matthew looked at the last words of the account that Gilbert had written on that page in the diary.

"_This place is hell and I can tell it's about to get a lot worse."_

* * *

><p>Matthew wiped the tears that were dripping down his face. His breath came out in shuddering gasps and his blood felt like ice in his veins. He waited until he had calmed down before he continued reading…<p>

* * *

><p>Gilbert was lying in a holding cell, still waiting for some information about what would happen to him. He had been informed that because of the incident on the roof a check was done on him and his name flagged up in Germany. He'd been lying in the dark for hours, so it was inevitable that he would remember the events that led to him being here, completely unaware that back in his bedroom his boyfriend was reliving the same memories through his journals.<p>

* * *

><p><span>Years Previously<span>

Gilbert sat at the large dinner table opposite his brother and next to his Mutti. Ludwig was next to his Vater and they were both eating their large steak meal. Gilbert wasn't allowed to eat the same food as the others, or eat at the same time, but had to sit with them anyway. Gilbert's Mutti hadn't touched her food. Her pale arms folded in front of her and her blue eyes distant. She looked so much like her father, and Ludwig looked so much like she did. It was quite unnerving really, how Gilbert and Ludwig's Vater looked different from the two. Ludwig's Vater was of medium height but muscular. His military style buzz-cut hair was slightly darker than Gilbert's Mutti's or Ludwig's and his eyes were brown.

"The food is very good Mutti." Ludwig said quietly and she smiled lightly, almost sarcastically.

"Danke Ludwig." She responded curtly and Gilbert looked at her wide-eyed. She was always so saccharine to Ludwig, like he really was just as angelic as his appearance implied. So this sudden cold response was a shock to the near-albino.

Ludwig's Vater looked over at his wife and growled upon seeing her still-full plate.

"What's wrong with your steak?" He asked through a mouthful of food.

"Nothing dear." She said in response, exasperation clear in her voice.

"Then fucking eat it. Do you have any idea how much it cost?" He responded angrily after he swallowed his mouthful. Their Mutti nodded and picked up her knife and fork but didn't eat it. Instead she just moved the food around on her plate."You've been to see him again." It wasn't a question and their Mutti stiffened. "Your other man. You've been with him and now you're too nervous to eat." He continued and she shook her head.

"Nein I don't know what you're talking about." She said quietly and he stood up, enraged.

"Are you calling me a liar?" He asked angrily as he slammed his fist down on the table, making the plates and cutlery jump with a clink.

Their Mutti then rose too and they began screaming at each other in German. Gilbert carefully got up from his seat and made his way over to where Ludwig was looking on with a pained expression. He hugged his younger brother and stood in front of him, Gilbert's hands over Ludwig's little ears. That way Ludwig wouldn't see his father beat their Mutti and the sound would be muffled. Gilbert could hear it though. Every hit, kick and gasp in pain Gilbert heard. But it was the sound of someone heaving for breath that caught his attention and he turned around and saw his step-father kneeling on his Mutti's chest with his hands crushing her throat. Her face was a horrible dark colour, bordering purple. Gilbert ran forward and began pulling at his step-father's muscular arms. He hit, kicked and pulled but it had no effect. "Let her go! Bitte! Bitte let her go!" He cried, trying desperately to free his Mutti.

Suddenly his Mutti stopped struggling and the colour drained from her face. Her eyes were half-lidded and her skin was ashen and every muscle in her face was completely relaxed. "M-Mutti?" Gilbert asked tentatively and his step-father finally released her throat. They areas where his hands had been making a dark necklace.  
>Gilbert stared at his mother's lifeless body in shock, not really comprehending what had happened.<p>

"You…killed her." He said, his voice quiet and distant. Like it was spoken by someone else.

His stepfather turned to Gilbert and grabbed him by the collar and pulled him close.

"Tell anyone about this and I'll kill you." He growled into Gilbert's face.

"…I wouldn't care if you did." Gilbert replied lifelessly and his stepfather shook him like a ragdoll before drawing his fist back and punching the young Gilbert in the face. Gilbert's head snapped back and he slowly lifted his head back up, his eyes nearly as lifeless as his Mutti's as he gazed up at his stepfather. The man drew his fist back again but a whimper from the dinner table stilled them both.

Ludwig was still sat at the dinner table. His eyes were wide in fear and he was trembling. Gilbert felt hollow as he realised what his brother had just witnessed. Ludwig's Vater noticed the pained look on Gilbert's face and drew him close again.

"Tell anyone…and I'll kill _him._" He motioned to Ludwig with his eyes. A feeling of anger surged inside Gilbert unlike anything he'd ever felt.

"Touch mein Bruder, and I'll kill _you._" Gilbert said protectively. Lifting his head to meet his step-father's gaze before tearing out of his grasp. He grabbed Ludwig's small, slightly pudgy hand and pulled him from the room. He yanked his dazed younger brother into his room and they both sat on Gilbert's bed. Then, Gilbert shot up and locked the door to be safe.

They sat in silence for a long time, just trapped in their own thoughts when Gilbert pulled out a leather-bound notebook. He picked up a pen and began to write about what had just happened. Short of cutting this was the best way to release his emotions.

He finished writing and shut the book, walking over to Ludwig and pulling him into a hug and rubbing soothing circles on his back.

"It's okay Bruder. I'll protect you. I'll keep you safe. I promise he'll never hurt you." Gilbert kept muttering the reassuring phrases until Ludwig stopped his nervous trembling and relaxed into his older brothers' grasp. He wasn't asleep, just relaxed.

* * *

><p><strong>And that is the first Prequel thing. xD<strong>

**The next one has the rest :P**

**Once again, my apologies for the long absence. I should get the next chapter up soon! **

**The UsUk will probably be called "The Date" or something similar and I'll start uploading it soon.**

**:D**

**Adios!**

**~Oresama**

**P.S. Reviewers get to dress up in a Panda suit and join Russia in stalking China.**

**Much Love!**


	18. Prequel II

**Sorry for the long wait, the structure for this was impossible to work out and I ended up writing it about three different ways. I finally decided to write it like any other chapter, like a memory. This chapter is long. With the AN's I'm going to say not too far off 8,000 words. LONG. Almost as long as Prussia's *cough* Anyway... here. **

* * *

><p>In the months following his Mutti's murder, Gilbert trained to become stronger. Every day he'd wake up at five in the morning and do as many sit-ups and push-ups as he could in an hour before walking with Ludwig to school. Then while Ludwig stayed after school, Gilbert would run as many laps as he could around the school's track-field. He and Ludwig had also signed up to the school's karate team. Both boys were spending as little time at home as they could, both leaving in the early hours of the morning and returning at night. During school holidays, Ludwig would stay around his friends' houses or join Gilbert in the silver-haired teen's camping trips around Germany. The two had inevitably bonded but they never spoke of that day, or their step-father. It was like an unsaid agreement between them.<p>

It was during this time that Gilbert met Matthias, a Danish boy on leave from work. It was during the Christmas break and Gilbert had been camping in Denmark. He usually stayed closer to home in case Ludwig decided to join him, but Ludwig was on a school trip for two weeks in Paris so even if he wanted to join in his older brother's adventures, he couldn't.

.

Gilbert had been asleep in his tent when he heard the sounds of yelling coming from outside his tent. He tried to ignore it but after finding that impossible, he unzipped the front and looked outside. The dimmed evening light meant Gilbert had to squint but from what he could see, two men were fighting a boy a few years older than Gilbert himself was. The teen had insane spiky blonde hair and was defending himself well against the two men but was still taking some serious hits.

_Don't get involved…It's nothing to do with you…It's nothing to do with you…verdammt. _

Gilbert groaned and got up, damning his own sense of morality. His Opa had always told him that ignoring someone who needed your help was the lowest form of cowardice and it was something he believed in strongly. He swore again in German and climbed out of his tent, making his way over to the two men. The months of training had paid off, it had made him stronger but he was still nervous as he approached the three.

_Awesome people aren't nervous! And you're awesome. So man up! _Gilbert yelled internally. He took a deep breath and jumped beside the blonde-haired teen.

"The awesome me is here to save your ass!" Gilbert yelled and they all turned to him in shock.

"…Who the hell is this brat?" One of the older two said in confusion and the other shrugged in response.

Gilbert's cocky grin remained as he looked between the group. The confusion and shock had made everyone freeze and now it was just awkward. He turned to the blonde teen and found him giving him a look of surprise, confusion and gratitude.

"Kid, get out of our business." One of the two older men said. He was bald and had mean dark little eyes. The other one nodded in agreement. He was taller than the other and not as fat; he also had a lot of tattoo's and short, dark hair.

Gilbert ignored them and continued to stand, ready to fight.

"Seriously, kid. This doesn't concern you, go home." The bald one tried again and Gilbert growled.

"Nein." He said simply, glaring at the two. The stress on their temper began to show.

"This is adult business." The taller one began. "Go back home to your mother and let the big boys do the talking." He said sarcastically with a malicious grin.

"My mother is dead." Gilbert snapped, anger welling within him at being treated like a child. "And it didn't look like talking from where I was." He replied and the bald man stepped forward, cracking his knuckles.

"Kid, I'm not playing nice anymore. Get lost." The bald one said threateningly and Gilbert lost it.

"STOP CALLING ME KID!" He screamed, swinging his fist forward and embedding it in the bald man's face. The awkward stillness broke and it was Gilbert and the blonde teenager against the two older men. The older men were strong but had no talent for fighting and soon the fight was over with the bald man unconscious and the taller man sporting a broken nose and a mangled left arm. The taller one used his remaining good arm to shift the unconscious man away.

.

Gilbert turned to the blonde teen, "You can begin thanking me now. I accept heart-wrenching emotional speeches or a statue of me carved from ivory or gold." Gilbert said with a triumphant grin. The blonde still had a look of shock which morphed into a grin and he began laughing.

"What the hell was that?" He said between laughs. "What did you…who are you?" He asked, touching his eye gingerly and hissing when it hurt. Gilbert shook his head and motioned for the blonde to follow him as he walked away. "Why?" The blonde asked.

"I have bandages and beer, come on." He said with a proud smirk. It was all that was needed to get the blonde to follow.

.

When they got back they began to talk. Gilbert learned his name and that he worked on a ship that did trips to various places around the world but mainly America and Canada. The Danish man, called Matthias, learned that Gilbert had a younger brother and lived with his step-dad and that he liked to spend his time off school travelling. That was about all the German would allow the other to know about his home life.

After that night the Danish man would return every day during the holiday, except the few days around Christmas. But after Christmas he was sure to drop by Gilbert's tent with a bottle of beer and a packet of cigarettes all wrapped with a bow. The German had never smoked and when he did he decided he didn't like the taste but found something so terribly addictive both in the cigarette itself and the slow self-destruction it symbolised.

Not before long Gilbert had to leave to return to Germany and he got Matthias' number from the Danish man with promises to text. They weren't …friends, exactly but Gilbert found him amusing. It was the closest thing to a friend he would let himself have at that time. Matthias was a bad influence and Gilbert loved that.

* * *

><p>When Gilbert returned to Germany life returned to how it was before he went to Denmark, except, he now occasionally texted Matthias if he was bored. Matthias would always reply something sarcastic or perverted which Gilbert found amusing. After a while, Matthias started texting Gilbert about this guy he liked and how he thought about asking him out. This brought back feelings and ideas that Gilbert didn't want to think about, so he stopped replying to Matthias' texts after a while.<p>

* * *

><p>It was nearly two months after Gilbert had returned from Denmark and tensions between Ludwig and Gilbert were rising. The stresses of life were showing better than ever and his temper was extremely volatile. He had also begun purposefully picking fights with Ludwig's Vater now that he was better able to defend himself.<p>

.

Gilbert was about to head to the track field after school when his phone started to ring. He frowned at the caller ID which displayed his own home-phone number back at him. With reluctant fingers he answered the call and nervously placed the device beside his ear. "…hallo?" He asked in confusion.

* * *

><p>Gilbert was nearly at home. Ludwig's father had been the one to call and had instructed him to return home that instant. It was hard to say how he sounded but it definitely wasn't happy. He was about five minutes away when his phone went off again. He answered the device, assuming it was his brother's father but the voice on the other end was higher and less aggressive. "Gilbert?" A nervous voice on the other end asked.<p>

"West? What's up?" He asked his brother in concern.

"Gilbert, why has Vater just called and told us to stay out tonight?" He asked suspiciously, his voice a little squeaky from where it was starting to break.

"What? He just told me to get my ass home right away! What is he…?" Gilbert asked to himself more than anyone. "Sorry West, I'm practically home. I better go or he'll be even more pissed." Gilbert started to hang up when his brother's voice caught his attention.

"East!" Gilbert froze over the hang-up button. His brother only called him that when he was serious. "Be careful." Ludwig said quietly and Gilbert grinned.

"Damnit West you're so cute! When I next see you I'm hugging you, just so you know." Gilbert said with a laugh, finally hanging up on his brother. His grin slid off his face as he realised the gravity of his situation. _He wants me home…and alone at that matter. Something tells me this is going to hurt. _

He stood outside his house for a few moments, looking up at the large structure in dread. He knew that he'd be lucky if he ever got the chance to see it again. He said a quick prayer in his head for Ludwig then took in a deep breath and headed inside.

* * *

><p>Gilbert barely managed to shut the door when he heard something slam against the wall beside him. He looked down and saw the open pages of a book looking up at him.<p>

"Read it." An angry voice called out from the doorway of the room adjoining the hallway. Gilbert bent down and picked up the book, turning it over in his hands then nearly dropping it in shock in realisation at what it was. _How did he find… He's been through my room! Shit this isn't good. _

"Come here and read it." The voice instructed again and Gilbert stepped forward with a gulp. He stood hovering in the doorway of the sitting room, Ludwig's Vater sitting stiffly on the sofa on the other side of the room. "Read it aloud." He said in a dangerous voice, "the last page will do."

Gilbert managed to flick to the last page that was written on, trying to read was difficult as his nervous trembling made the book shake. "…and I can't stop dreaming about him. Every night it's t-the same except w-we go a bit f-further each time. I d-don't know what to think, all I can d-do is pray that Ludwig won't hate me when he f-finds out that his big...his big b-bruder is g-g-gay." Ludwig's father put his hand up, motioning Gilbert to stop reading from his diary. He had been describing the dreams that had been plaguing his sleep for a while now between him and someone from his school, though the two had never had an actual conversation. He looked down at the carpeted flooring, unable to face his step-father out of humiliation and fear. He had never wanted anyone to find his diaries and yet the person he would have least liked to see them was the person that did.

"Look at me." The Ruby-eyed teen jumped, having not been aware that the man had moved so close to him. He took a couple of calming breaths and reluctantly raised his face to look up at the other man. His step-father growled and pulled his fist back, grinning sadistically before swinging it forward and hitting Gilbert on the cheek. Gilbert's head snapped back, hitting the door-frame and he fell to the ground in pain. The older man brought the heel of his shoe down on Gilbert's stomach, making the teenager choke and cough. The older man then crouched down by Gilbert's head, pulling it up by his hair and making the teen look him in the eye. "Pathetic. Just like your Mutter. Knew I should have put you down a long time ago. Bad genes, that's what's wrong with you. Your mother was a slut and your father was a dirty fag. You were destined to be wrong."

Gilbert glared at the man beside him, part of him knew being defiant would only make things worse but he didn't care. "Ja. I'm the pathetic one." Gilbert said sarcastically, "That's why I hit children and beat women. Oh and that's why I just hit a thirteen year old. That's how pathetic I am-Ach!" Gilbert's eyes swam as his step-father slammed his head into the ground with a sickening 'thud'.

"Shut up! You worthless, disgusting child! You're nothing! Nothing but poison." The older of the two screamed into Gilbert's face, his hands gripped the base of the teen's throat and suddenly Gilbert couldn't breathe. Ruby eyes widened in fear as he realised he was going to die like his Mutti. He tried to pull his step-father's arms away but any strength he had was fading. Somewhere in the distance of his blackening vision he saw a blur of yellow and his name being called but by then everything was too dark.

Suddenly the pressure was gone and he could breathe. Gilbert began gulping down air desperately and his vision began to brighten. He heard something ahead of him, his name again. He knew that voice…_Ludwig?_ Gilbert asked himself then suddenly it hit him that his brother must have saved him. Looking around, he couldn't see his stepfather, or his brother for that matter. Then he heard it again, his name being called from a distance. He quickly got up and shook his head to dispel the dizziness before he lurched forward. He made his way to the back door and ahead he saw his brother disappear into the disused shed.

Gilbert swore and began to run as best he could towards the old wooden shed. Luckily the door was open so he could enter without being noticed. He stood in the doorway, behind his stepdad and looked around for something he could use as a weapon in case things turned sour. Beside him on the floor he saw a large, rusty hammer which he managed to pick up without attracting suspicion. He held it firmly and stepped forward so he could better see what was happening. Ludwig's father seemed to have said something that upset the younger boy as he was shaking. Gilbert felt his blood freeze as he saw his stepfather reach down for his hunting rifle. The gun barely made it an inch off the ground when Gilbert swung his heavy weapon round, hitting his stepfather in the temple, knocking him to the ground. He pulled it out from where it had sunken in and brought it back down, then again, and again until he and even Ludwig was splattered in blood. He was seeing red and was about to lift it again to swing it when he felt a pair of arms wrap around his midsection.

"Halt Bruder, halt!" Cried a high voice and the crimson-eyed teen froze. He dropped the hammer to the ground and turned, enveloping his brother in a tight embrace.

"West…we need to go. Go pack your stuff, only bring stuff you need. Now!" Gilbert yelled and Ludwig nodded and ran back to the house. Gilbert looked down at the bloodied mess of what used to be his stepfather and an insane grin plastered itself onto his face. A small giggle escaped his parted lips and soon it became manic laughter. He was doubled over, vicious laughs tearing its way from his throat and as soon as it started it stopped. Gilbert looked down at the body again but this time with a look of horror and he turned and ran, ran as fast as he could from the shed and back to the house.

He grabbed some clothes, his diaries and his stepfather's car-keys, as-well-as as much money as he could find. He was about to head downstairs when he remembered something. He ran back to his room and to his bed, lifting his mattress off the bedframe and reaching under. He finally found it, a small blue cardboard box. His fingers wrapped around it and he pulled it to him. Lifting the lid he let himself have a moment to look upon the contents with admiration. It was his Opa's Iron Cross which had been made into a pendant and now hung upon a silver chain. He pulled it out of the box and put the necklace on with immense pride. It was the most precious thing he owned and nothing could make him leave it behind. Deciding he had everything he ran downstairs where Ludwig was waiting by the door.

* * *

><p>Gilbert and Ludwig were running, tearing down the street to the car they knew was parked down the road. The night air was cold but neither could feel it, they were too numb from shock. Ludwig tripped and Gilbert reached for him, picking him up and carrying his eleven year-old brother to the family car. In what felt like forever he finally reached the car and put Ludwig down. His hands were shaking too much and the blood coating his palms made the keys slide about so unlocking the car took too long. Eventually he was able to unlock the car and he put two large bags of what was now all he and his brother owned in the world on the back seats and got in the front while Ludwig got into the back of the car with the bags. When they both had their seatbelts on Gilbert wiped the blood off his palms and onto his trousers and started the car.<p>

Gilbert would tense every time he saw a police car and only relaxed when they reached the border. He looked up at the rear-view mirror and saw his brother asleep on the back seats at last. He had done nothing but stare ahead almost the entire journey. Gilbert rolled down his window as he pulled up to the toll booth. He threw his change into the metal bucket and the barrier let him through. After another hour or so of driving Gilbert found a cheap hotel and decided it was safe to rest. As he pulled into a parking spot Ludwig began to wake up.

"B-bruder? …Where are we?" Ludwig asked sleepily as he looked out of the window to unfamiliar land.

"Denmark." Gilbert replied as he prepared to get out of the car. He looked down and saw his arms and shirt, as well as parts of his trousers, was covered in blood. Ludwig had some blood on his clothes too but not as much as Gilbert did. "I have a friend here who I think can get me a job on a cruise ship to America. You'll come too of course, but you're too young to work-"

"So are you, I'm not that much younger." Ludwig interrupted.

"Fine, you look too young to work. Plus, your voice hasn't even broken yet." Gilbert responded though his voice lacked humour or even a hint of mocking. It was just fact. Ludwig was quiet at this and looked out of the window.

The two sat in thoughtful silence until Ludwig spoke up, "Bruder…What's going to happen to us?"

Gilbert sighed, "I don't know West. It'll be okay though. You'll always be safe with me. No matter what, I'll always keep you safe."

Ludwig stared at his brother in what looked like a mixture of confusion and admiration. Gilbert looked away awkwardly and grabbed his bag from the back seat. "We need to get changed before we go in." Gilbert said simply, pulling off his clothes unashamedly. He knew Ludwig would never look so he wasn't worried about the younger seeing his bruised and scarred body. When they were both dressed they climbed out of the car and headed to the cheap hotel.

* * *

><p>Thankfully the person working on the register wasn't paying much attention and didn't ask any questions so there was no trouble in getting a room. They headed up and Gilbert told Ludwig to take a shower. His younger Bruder just nodded and obeyed. That scared Gilbert, he wondered how much more Ludwig's small mind could cope with before it became too much. Shaking his head to rid himself of those thoughts, Gilbert pulled his phone out of his pocket. He would need to buy himself a new one in the morning, and get Ludwig one.<p>

He scrolled through his contacts and pressed the dialling button when he found the number he was looking for.

The phone rang a few times but eventually the person on the other end of the line picked up.

"Gilbie? Do you know what time it is? Someone had better be dead." A tired voice said with a yawn and Gilbert winced at the wording. "It's tired and I had a late shift man!" The Danish man said irritably.

"Matthias I need help." Gilbert said shortly. "I'm in Denmark, could we meet up? I need to get out of the country, I don't care where." He said quickly and there was a pause on the other end.

"You want me to get you a spot on my ship, don't you?" The Danish man asked tiredly. "That shouldn't be too hard, we're always in need of people to work as waiters and entertainers and shit." The voice said sleepily.

"How many people do you think you could get on?" Gilbert asked hopefully, trying to make the conversation end as soon as possible.

"Uhh about 7 max, dude. Why? Who else ya' bringing?" Matthias said, stifling a yawn. "Look, Gil, I'm tired as hell. I get back in Denmark the day after tomorrow and we'll meet up. Say, one o'clock, the same place we used to meet up. 'Kay?" Gilbert agreed and the line went dead.

The silver-haired man turned the phone off and rubbed his eyes tiredly. The day's events hadn't yet sunk in and all the driving had been hard work. The room was now silent except for the sounds of the shower in the adjoining bathroom. _West has been a while…I should check up on him._

Gilbert went over to the bathroom door and knocked. "West? Are you okay…? I mean, do you need anything?" Gilbert nearly face-palmed at how stupid that sounded, but there was no response. "West?" He knocked harder this time. "West I'm coming in." He called out, turning the handle to find it unlocked. He pushed open the door and looked over to the shower. It was a bathtub with a shower head attached to the wall above and sitting with his knees to his chest was Ludwig, still fully dressed and soaked through.

"West!" Gilbert called out, running to his brother and collapsing to his knees beside him. "Verdammt West the water is freezing!" He scolded worriedly. He pulled his brother out of the bathtub and onto his lap. He wrapped one arm around the shivering boy and the other hand reached into the bath to turn the shower off and then put the plug into the bath. He then twisted the hot tap and leant against the side of the tub, his arms wrapped protectively around his brother.

"I'm sorry West. I'm sorry. Es tut mir leid Bruder." Gilbert whispered to his broken brother. His shoulders shook slightly and tears began to fall from his eyes as guilt began to burn him from the inside. "I'm sorry Bruder." Gilbert said again and then he felt a pair of small hands grab his shirt then Ludwig buried his face in Gilbert's chest. The two just sat together, crying until the bath was full. Gilbert checked the water and added a bit of cold as the water was too hot, then looked away as his brother undressed and got into the bath. When Ludwig was covered by the water, Gilbert turned back and grabbed a washcloth that was hanging over the edge of the bath. Gilbert dampened the cloth in the reddening water and wiped gently at his brother's pale face. Once the blood was gone, he tilted Ludwig's head back a little and scooped some water onto his hair. The hotel had provided some shampoo and Gilbert poured some into his palms. The ruby-eyed man then rubbed it into Ludwig's scalp, being careful to make sure not to get any into the younger boy's eyes. When it was sufficiently covered he went to scoop more water but noticed how red it was. Instead he turned on the shower on a low setting and rinsed his Bruder's hair. When the bubbles were gone from the short blonde hair, Gilbert turned the shower off and pushed Ludwig's hair back away from his face to squeeze the water out without getting it in his eyes and froze.

"You…you look like Opa with your hair like that." Gilbert said with a fond smile, one that Ludwig had never seen before. In fact, he hadn't seen Gilbert smile at all for a while. The smaller German decided he would try to get his hair like that from now on, if just to see his older brother smile.

A stillness settled between the two as both thought about what to say.

"…Danke." Ludwig said so quietly that Gilbert nearly didn't hear it. Gilbert gave Ludwig a questioning look and the blonde looked away. "You saved me." He added and Gilbert's eyes widened.

"It's…Danke for saving me too." Gilbert replied awkwardly, unsure what to say.

"Uh…Bruder?"

"Ja?"

"Can I get out now?" Ludwig asked timidly and Gilbert realised.

"Oh yeah, let me get you a towel." Gilbert said hurriedly, grabbing the softest looking towel on the rack and holding it out to his brother with his eyes closed. He felt the towel being taken from him and after a few moments he opened his eyes. "I'm going to have a shower Bruder. You go ahead and get to bed, it's been a long day. We should be leaving the day after tomorrow." Ludwig nodded and headed into the bedroom which held two single beds. He climbed into the bed nearest the door and closed his eyes, he knew he wouldn't sleep but it felt nice to just rest a little.

* * *

><p>It was getting late and Gilbert was walking, alone, through the streets of Denmark. He had gone out to get some air, besides he needed to get himself and Ludwig a phone each in case his was being tracked. He had managed to get a pair of cheap mobiles and had topped them up and was now heading back to the hotel. The gravity of recent events were slowly sinking in, but he was still mostly in denial. He walked down the rather empty street when the faint smell of smoke reached him. He continued walking, the fire department probably already knew anyway. <em>Yes, there are the sirens.<em> Gilbert thought as he heard the loud wailing of the fire-engines in the distance.

He continued down the road when he heard footsteps coming towards him out of the alleyway ahead. Suddenly a teen, only a little younger than he was turned towards him. He had shoulder-length wavy blonde hair and was wearing something that looked ridiculously cold in the bitter northern-European air. Gilbert shook his head, the boy's black shorts and thin white shirt obviously did nothing to protect him from the cold. Suddenly the boy turned, spotting Gilbert instantly and he began to walk towards the German, swaying his hips provocatively.

"Mon Cher, you look lonely. Would you like some… company… for the night?" He asked with a wink, running one hand through his hair and the other down his chest. Gilbert stared in horror at the boy's antics.

"Nein." He said simply, trying to continue walking, but the boy had other ideas and stood in front of Gilbert before pushing up against him.

"Really?" The boy asked, his blue eyes showing the nervousness hidden by fake lust. "But, I assure you, my prices are very reasonable." He whispered, running a hand down Gilbert's chest. Gilbert pushed the man away harshly, he felt sick. The boy was too young to be out on the streets doing something like this.

The boy looked like he was going to try again and Gilbert lost it, grabbing the boy by the collar and shoving him up against a wall. "Back the hell off or I swear to god-" The feeling of something hitting him weakly on the head made him stop and he turned to see another boy, even younger than the one he was holding onto, hitting him with what appeared to be a stick of some kind.

"The fuck?" Gilbert asked, dropping the French boy and turning to the other. He had dark, curly hair and light green eyes. A pair of frail, tanned arms held the stick up, ready to hit again should he need to.

"Leave him alone!" The tanned boy yelled and Gilbert looked at him in surprise. _This kid… looks like he's more likely to hurt himself by hitting me with that thing than he is me… and yet he still tried. Kid's got guts… _Gilbert raised his hands in mock surrender.

"I let go of him, besides, he was the one throwing himself at me." Gilbert said, his voice un-amused by the whole thing. He stepped away from the blonde boy and turned, beginning to walk back to the hotel.

"Antonio, why are you out here?" One of the boys said to the other, the blonde one judging by the accent.

"Our place, it's…" The other boy began.

"The fire." The French boy finished and the other boy hummed in agreement. Gilbert felt himself slow down to hear them talking better.

The Spanish boy wailed and Gilbert actually stopped, he leaned against the wall nearest him and pulled a cigarette out of his pocket. He hadn't stopped since Denmark and this way he could still listen in on the conversation.

"What are we going to do Francis?" The tanned boy cried out and from the corner of his eye Gilbert could see the blonde boy hugging him. "We're homeless! And Sadik's going to find out they burnt down his place because of us! They won't stop looking for us until they have their money, and now he's going to be after us as well." The Spaniard sobbed into the French boy's chest. "We're going to die." He whispered and the Frenchman rubbed his back comfortingly, making hushing noises to calm him down. He had nothing to say to comfort the Spaniard's cries, he knew it was all true.

"Maybe…" The Spanish boy began, "maybe if I start working with you, we could earn twice the money-"

"Non!" The French boy snapped. "I will not let you whore yourself out, mon ami. Do not ask me to watch you do that to yourself!" He added sharply and the Spaniard quietened. "We'll have to leave. We might be able to find somewhere to go..." Gilbert had heard enough. He wanted to just leave, to just return to the hotel and pretend he had heard nothing, but he couldn't. Once again he found himself damning his beliefs. _Is it really that bad to be a coward…yes. Damnit._

He sighed and walked towards the two. "Hey! You guys look like you need someone awesome to help you out, and luckily I'm the most awesome guy who's ever lived." The two boys shared a look which became a silent conversation made up of nods and pleading eyes. Gilbert waited and they seemed to want to trust him as they turned back to him to hear him out.

* * *

><p>The three of them made their way up to the hotel together, Gilbert had a bag in each hand and the younger two held a carrier bag between them. They had gone shopping for food and Gilbert decided that the clothes they had were either way too inappropriate or too wrecked to be counted as clothing and so he had bought them a couple of cheap outfits. <em>Maybe this is god's way of letting me make up for what I did? <em>He said to himself as he carried the bags up the stairs, he then mentally slapped himself. Helping out a couple of people in need didn't make up for murder. The reminder of what he did made him feel sick and guilt began to numb his being. He managed to open the door to his and Ludwig's hotel room and made his way inside.

Ludwig looked up from his book on the bed he was sat on and stared at his brother in shock.

"Bruder? …explain." He said seriously, looking between his brother and the newcomers and Gilbert grinned sheepishly.

"They needed help." He stated, placing the bags down on the floor. "Besides, Matthias said that we can have up to seven people. It's not exactly going to hurt much if we help them." If Ludwig disapproved, he was too polite to say it out loud, choosing instead to shake his head and return to his book.

* * *

><p>Gilbert made everyone food; he was no great cook but managed to make a load of bread and instant noodles for everyone. The two new-comers ate ravenously and when they were done Gilbert began on introductions. "As I said before, I'm Gilbert and this is Ludwig." The two boys greeted the youngest blonde and he returned the wave. "Und West, this is Antonio." He indicated the Spanish boy, "and Francis." He didn't need to say who he was as said Frenchman blew Ludwig a kiss with a wink, causing the young German to blush. "Uh…yeah. Now that you all know each other, time for bed, ah. West you share with me, you two share the other bed." He raised his eyebrows at the look his brother was giving him. "It's only for one night West." He laughed, patting his brother on the head. "Is that…West, did you use conditioner to keep your hair back?" he asked, pulling his hand away from his brother's solid mass of hair and giving his brother an amused smirk which made the younger German's blush grow.<p>

"Shut up Bruder." Ludwig whined and climbed into the bed he'd been sat on earlier. Gilbert laughed and climbed in beside his brother.

"The shower's free you two, or you can shower in the morning, I don't care. I've got to go out in the morning; I won't be back until the afternoon so you lot have time to bond." Gilbert said in amusement and had to stifle a laugh at the small groan of displeasure from the small blonde beside him. The Frenchman and Spaniard had apparently decided to shower later because they both climbed into the free bed, wrapping around each other in a way that seemed natural, like they'd done it hundreds of times before.

* * *

><p>In the middle of the night, Gilbert stirred. He just couldn't sleep as every time he shut his eyes he would get memories of what he'd done. He needed a release. He carefully got up from the bed, cautious not to wake Ludwig, and headed over to the bathroom. He didn't know what time it was, just that it was late. He walked into the room and took his shirt off and sat in the bathtub, not bothering to shut the door as everyone was asleep. He grabbed the complimentary razor from the side of the tub and brought his wrist up to the light. The inside was covered with scars and the occasional scab from healing wounds.<p>

He sighed to himself and brought the razor to his wrist, holding it over the pale skin for a moment then bringing it down and cutting across. He bit his lip to stop himself from crying out which caused it to bleed. _So much blood. Like when I hit him, there was so much blood on the ground. And on me, and Ludwig and the ground and the walls and the hammer. _Blood dripped down the sides of his wrist and down to the drain where it disappeared.

He cut again and muttered a quiet prayer for forgiveness. He knew what he did was wrong but he also knew that the man deserved it. He was doing his duty to protect his brother, but he still committed murder. He was still a killer. He cut a couple more times then ran the razor under the tap to clean off his blood. He placed it back on the side and brought his knees up to his chest.

Sobs wracked his young body making everything hurt. For the first time since he left Germany the numbness left and he felt pain. Immense pain. His chest from where is stepdad had kicked him, his face from the punch, his head from the floor and his throat from being choked. The cuts on his arms burned and suddenly the weight of everything crashed down upon him and he repeated the Lord's Prayer between sobs.

"Gilbert?" A shocked French accent rang out and Gilbert looked up wide-eyed, terrified at being caught. "Gilbert…what did you do?" Francis ran into the room, looking around. Finding what he was looking for, the Frenchman reached over and picked up the first-aid kit from beside the sink. He quickly opened the box and pulled out a set of bandages.

Without a word he gently pulled Gilbert's hand under the tap and turned it on a low setting so that it wouldn't hurt too much. When most of the blood had been washed off he wrapped a bandage around securely and did it up with a little bow. Gilbert just stared at it in shock; it was the closest thing to affection he'd ever received from anyone. "Danke." He muttered awkwardly and Francis just shrugged in response.

The atmosphere was rather tense after that and Gilbert decided to get up from the bathtub. He climbed out and ran the tap to wash away the remaining blood, looking around for his shirt because the look of horror Francis was giving his bruised and abused torso was making him self-conscious. "Why did you come in here? Did you want to use the bathroom or…" He asked, trying to divert the Frenchman's attention.

"Non, the light woke me up. When I worked out it was you and that you were alone I thought it was too good an opportunity to miss…" The French boy said in a smooth voice, walking towards Gilbert who backed away automatically.

"Opportunity for what?" He asked nervously, realising he was running out of space to reverse.

"To pay you back of course." The Frenchman giggled but Gilbert could tell it was forced. "I must ask you to leave Antonio alone, but do not fret Mon Cher, I will more than make up for what you do not get from him." He continued to get closer and Gilbert had no room to back up any further.

"Nein! No. Do not want!" Gilbert said hastily, lifting his arms to make an X. "This," Gilbert indicated his bandaged wrist, "This is my repayment! Consider me repaid." Gilbert added and Francis raised an eyebrow, suddenly finding the previously cocky German to be rather cute when flustered.

"Is it because you are, as you may say, untouched?" Francis said with a wink. "Nothing to be ashamed or scared about, I promise it won't hurt." The look he received from Gilbert was nothing short of precious and it suddenly dawned on Francis how young Gilbert was, really only a few months older than he was.

"How many ways do I have to say no Frenchie? Look, you're cute and everything but no. Not interested, not gay." Gilbert said, a little panicked about being backed into a corner.

"How do you know you're not gay if you've never tried it?" Francis asked and Gilbert pressed himself up against the wall behind him.

"Look, I'm not going to sleep with you okay?" He said a little louder than meaning to.

"What's going on amigos?" A tired Spanish teenager said from the doorway, rubbing his eyes. Gilbert used the distraction as an opportunity to escape.

"Nothing, I'm going to bed now. G'night." He said hurriedly as he rushed from the room, leaving a confused Spaniard and a concerned French boy behind.

"Francis, what were you doing?" He asked his friend and Francis turned to the slightly younger Spanish boy.

"Nothing Cher, just talking." He said, wrapping his arms around the boy he'd considered family his whole life.

"These people are strange, but they seem nice." The Spanish boy muttered into his taller friend's chest and Francis nodded.

"Oui. I think we'll be okay with them." Antonio sighed happily and hugged Francis tighter.

* * *

><p>The next day, Gilbert found himself standing in the same secluded area he had been camping in just months before. He checked his watch and sighed, Matthias was late. As always.<p>

After a couple of minutes he grew fidgety and he checked his knew phone in case Ludwig had texted him. He was a little reluctant about leaving them all together but knew Ludwig could defend himself and wouldn't hurt the others unless he needed to; he was just worried they'd drive each other mad and end up killing each other. He winced at his own poor taste of wording and checked the time. Thankfully he heard whistling from nearby, a habit the Danish man apparently hadn't stopped.

"Gilbo! It's been ages man!" The Danish man called out when he saw the German. Gilbert returned with his signature confident grin which the Danish man matched with his own toothy smile. "So, Gil's gone and gotten himself in trouble, huh? Why am I not surprised…" Gilbert rolled his eyes in response and turned to the man he'd lost contact with a while ago.

"Can you help then?" He asked bluntly, not wanting to waste any more time. Matthias nodded and pulled out a notepad.

"Just give me names and I'll get the ID badges made up this afternoon. The ship boards tonight and leaves for Canada in the morning." Gilbert was glad to finally know of a destination, he would have preferred America but supposed that Canada would probably be better for someone wanting to disappear like he was. They could always spend a few years catching up on Education then attend an American high-school together.

"Okay, erm, Gilbert Beilschmidt, Ludwig Beilschmidt, Francis…uh, Bonnefoy." _That sounds French, right? _"…and, Antonio, uh…" Gilbert tried to wrack his brain for anything that sounded Spanish. He then remembered a Spanish character from a book he'd read, _and by book he meant magazine._ "Antonio Fernandez Carriedo." He concluded and Matthias looked sceptical but accepted it anyway.

"Ludwig…isn't he like eleven?" Gilbert gulped, the others looked older and could pass for older but Ludwig barely looked his own age.

"Uh…ja." He said simply and Matthias shut the notebook.

"No. Can't do it." Matthias said simply and Gilbert looked up desperately.

"What? You have to! Come on, bitte? You owe me!" Matthias looked down at Gilbert in amusement and his eyes grew dark. He walked forward, getting closer to Gilbert.

"First of all, I don't have to do anything. Secondly, I never asked for your help so I don't owe you. Thirdly, if I do put my neck on the line, what's in it for me?" The Danish man asked lowly, reaching his hand out and wrapping around Gilbert's waist, bringing them closer and bringing his mouth to the boy's ear. "What would you do for me?" Gilbert gulped, the memory of what Francis said the night before coming to mind and suddenly what Matthias was implying clicked.

"You want me to repay you… in _that_ way?" Gilbert asked incredulously and Matthias laughed.

"You're cute when you're not all loud and in-your-face, know that?" The Danish man said huskily, running his hands over Gilbert's body and taking his earlobe between his teeth. "Tell me Gilbie," He said, releasing the German's earlobe. "What would you be willing to do to help your brother?" He said with an amused smirk.

Gilbert shut his eyes tight. _You have no idea…_

* * *

><p>Francis stood with Ludwig and Antonio outside the hotel. Ludwig had received a call from his brother saying he was coming by to pick them up then they would be going. A rather expensive-looking German car suddenly came into view and pulled up alongside the group. Ludwig got in without question but Francis and Antonio just stared in shock at the vehicle. Gilbert rolled down the window of the driver's seat. "Hey, you losers getting in or what?" He called out to the stunned duo and they looked up at him impressed. They then grabbed their stuff and joined him in the back. Francis could have sworn Gilbert was shaking, he looked ill, like he was about to be physically sick.<p>

"Gilbert, I'm sorry for ever doubting your awesomeness amigo." Antonio said with a laugh as he clipped the seatbelt in.

Francis nodded in agreement, "Oui, this car is tres magnifique!" Gilbert laughed and began driving away from the hotel and towards the docks. Francis continued to watch him, wondering what the German had been doing to make him like this. They had only just met but something about his personality just clicked with himself and Antonio. He could tell that they would make great friends, he just hoped they got the chance.

* * *

><p>Once they actually got to the ship, someone came to take the car aboard the ship and the group were sent to where employees collected their badges. Gilbert led the group and Francis couldn't help but notice that Gilbert was limping in a way he knew only too well. When the man with spikey blonde hair looked down at Ludwig and then winked at Gilbert before handing him his Identification card, Francis realised what Gilbert had been off doing that afternoon and suddenly he found himself respecting the German and the lengths he would go to, to protect someone he cared about.<p>

"Antonio...Fernandez...Carriedo? Am I supposed to remember this?" Cried out the voice of a panicking Spaniard.

* * *

><p>Present day<p>

* * *

><p>Gilbert sat up at the sound of his cell opening. He looked up at the two people sent to escort him. "So, I'm all free to go?" He said jokingly but with a twinge of hope.<p>

"New evidence has been handed to the court. Your trial is tomorrow morning, ten o'clock. You'll be woken at eight and then escorted to the court at nine-fifteen." A strangely tall police officer stated. Gilbert nodded, ignoring whatever else they were saying. _Tomorrow. So soon? What evidence? Is it good evidence or bad evidence?_ Gilbert closed his eyes and unconsciously rubbed the Iron Cross he still wore around his neck. Its comforting effecthadn't yet diminished, even after all these years. _How long will I pay for what that bastard did? How long until I see my Birdie again?_

* * *

><p><strong>And das is das. <strong>

**Prequels are over *flails in relief***

**No kidding, hardest damn things to write EVER.**

**I've written easier 17 page essays!**

**This took too long! **

**Okay, I feel like I should reply to anon reviews, but I physically cannot. So next chapter I will reply to all the anon reviews at the end. **

**I am leaving this here, damn I'm tired. **

**The next chapter might be a little late because I have more exams next week D:**

**I hate exams. **

**HATE.**

**HAET.**

**I love everyone who has read this story and followed it up to now, and anyone who randomly started reading halfway through, and just anyone who's read this ever. You are all amazing! I can't believe it still, no joke, I'm like in disbelief! **

**Reviewers now get the opportunity to write Gil letters of encouragement as he awaits trial. You can just metaphorically write one, or leave your letter in the review and I'll pass it on :D (I'm intrigued to see if anyone will actually do it)**

**If there are any more questions about the past of any character, feel free to ask in a review or PM and I'll answer :) Or any question whatsoever really :) (unless the answer will give away the rest of the story)**

**Danke! **

**~Oresama**

**P.S. I was thinking of doing a UsUk based story with a load of other side-pairings, but it would be very...M rated (onhonhon) and with the whole FF PURGE! Idk...**

**I have other story ideas, I might just save the UsUk one until things calm down...**


	19. Why?

**The last-ish chapter guys! (explanation at the end) **

**Ohdeargod the feels D:**

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><p>Gilbert stood nervously beside his appointed lawyer. They had decided, in light of "recent evidence" to hold the trial in the U.S. because it would have been expensive and time consuming to send the German back to his own country. The whole trial had the air of something that everyone wanted to end quickly, especially considering the nature of the defence. The trial had been going somewhat in his favour until the incident on the roof had been brought up, now everyone was questioning Gilbert's sanity and photo after photo of Danny's broken jaw and damaged face was shown to the jury. Then the mysterious new evidence was brought forth.<p>

Gilbert had nearly feinted when his lawyer had brought out the box of his diaries. He had no idea that anyone had even known where they were. He decided he would have to ask if anyone visited him in prison. He felt like he was going to be sick and despite the whispered commands of his lawyer, he couldn't stand still and kept shuffling his feet.

Finally everyone sat down and the judge began to speak. "Mr Samuels, if you could please hand me the verdict? I'll check that it's in order before I hand it to the court for publishing." A rather small police officer handed an unsealed envelope to the judge and he opened it carefully. Gilbert desperately tried to read the Judge's facial expression as he read the slip that would decide Gilbert's fate but to no avail. The judge put the paper back into the envelope, stating that it was in order.

Gilbert had requested to know of the verdict on the same day as the trial and everyone had agreed. They wanted to move on from the case as soon as possible as it was a case of their own moral feelings against the feelings of the law. Everyone stood and prepared to hear the verdict, Gilbert's nervous shaking had increased so it was noticeable and he could feel the blood had drained from his face. In that moment he wished he had called his brother, boyfriend and friends to be there for support, instead of choosing to face things alone.

"Gilbert Beilschmidt…"

* * *

><p>Ludwig sat at the dining room table with Antonio and Francis. Matthew had barely left Gilbert's room since he had returned after Gilbert's arrest, the only exception being when he took a large box of what looked like books to the police station a few days ago. They were all feeling the strain from their friend's disappearance from their lives. There was no comic relief, no loud wake-up calls, no obnoxious laughter at ridiculous hours in the morning… no life in the place at all.<p>

Everyone had been wandering around like zombies. It was as if Gilbert's disappearance put them all in some kind of strange trance. The Pizza delivery man knocking at the door brought Ludwig out of his dark thoughts. They had ordered food because no one had the motivation to cook; despite them all knowing that there was little chance of them eating it. The German pulled himself up from the table and slowly wandered to the door. He slowly opened it and dropped the money he had been holding in shock, the coins bounced lightly on impact and rolled in nearly every direction.

"…East?" His mouth hung open and he slowly reached out a hand, his eyes watered as he realised that his older brother's torso was in fact solid. Gilbert just stood awkwardly with a sheepish smile on his face.

"You gonna let me in Bruder?" He said, attempting to diffuse the awkwardness.

"They let you off?" Ludwig spoke quietly and Gilbert shrugged.

"Kind-of. I have to attend some lame anger management thing for a couple of weeks, starting day after tomorrow. And my behaviour is under close watch for a while, but yes. Apparently I was too young to know what I was doing, as well as it being defence. They realised it had been necessary." Gilbert explained and Ludwig just nodded, still stunned. He hadn't expected for it to be over so soon, nor was he entirely confident that Gilbert would get off as lightly as he did. Seeing Ludwig wasn't moving any time soon, Gilbert decided to initiate the reunion joy by moving forward and hugging his younger (although taller) brother. Ludwig reacted almost immediately, wrapping his arms around Gilbert's shoulders tightly and burying his face in his brothers silvery hair. Gilbert could have sworn he felt a small kiss on the top of his head, but he didn't say anything.

"Bruder let me in the house. It's cold." Gilbert said after a while and Ludwig let out a small laugh. The ruby-eyed man took a few steps into the house and motioned for Ludwig to be quiet before heading into the dining room. He saw Francis and Antonio sat lacklustre at the wooden table and couldn't help a smirk.

"Kesesese look at you two!" The two heads snapped up, wide eyed. "This is what happens when I'm gone, you guys just can't function without my awesomeness!" He said with his usual grin and his two friends stared, dumbfounded. They then looked to Ludwig who stood in the doorway with a surprised smile on his face. Antonio was the first of the two to react. He leapt out of his chair and sprinted towards Gilbert as fast as he could. Gilbert even took a few nervous steps back but it was no use and he soon found himself lying on his back, a sobbing Spaniard lying him and kissing his cheeks.

Gilbert laughed at the Spaniard, he was like a puppy. He looked up at Francis who was smirking down at him with tears in his eyes. "Toni, Toni stop! Toni your saliva is coating me! I smell like tomatoes, get off me!" Gilbert laughed and eventually Antonio climbed off of the German. Francis held his hand out for Gilbert and pulled him off the ground.

When Gilbert was standing the French man wrapped his arms around Gilbert's waist, whispering, "Welcome home mon ami." Into his ear and grabbing his ass. Gilbert laughed again; he had really missed being at home, and looked around.

"Hey guys, where's birdie?" He asked, feeling a little disappointed when he realised he wasn't there.

"He's probably in your room, he might be asleep." Ludwig said and Gilbert nodded.

"Well I'm sure I can find something that'll wake him up…it has been a while, after all…" He said with a wink to which Francis laughed and Ludwig cringed. Antonio just stood obliviously.

"I don't get it. What's he going to do? Been a while since what?" He asked Francis and the Frenchman leaned down to whisper in his ear.

"He's going to put his what, where? Francis, I don't get your food metaphors." The Spanish man said obliviously and Gilbert headed downstairs to his bedroom, shaking his head in disbelief.

"He's nearly an adult! God help that Italian kid." Gilbert muttered to himself as he made his way down.

* * *

><p>He reached the bottom of the stairs and slowly opened the door. His room was dark but he could still make out the softly breathing figure under the covers his bed. He walked over to it and pulled back the duvet so he could slip under as well. He didn't want to wake Matthew yet, he had missed just lying in bed holding him while the Canadian slept, so that's what he did. He wrapped an arm around the blonde's waist and they lay together, warm and close. Matthew was so soft, like the soft toy he held in his own hands. Gilbert smirked, he found Kumajirou an endearing part of Matthew's personality, even if the bear sometimes made him a little…jealous.<p>

Gilbert sighed into Matthew's hair, a delirious smile on his face. He felt happy, his Canadian smelt like maple syrup and the strawberry shampoo he used. He stroked Matthew's hair softly, and then played with the long curly strand at the front. Not noticing how the Canadian's breathing sped up when he did. He did notice, however, when he ran the strand between his finger and thumb and Matthew groaned lightly in his sleep. Gilbert stared amused shock and repeated the action, to which Matthew groaned a little louder.

_Well, this is interesting…_ Gilbert thought with a smirk, rubbing the curl a little harder.

"…Gil…" Matthew moaned, his face flushed. At first Gilbert had thought that the Canadian had woken up, but Matthews eyes remained closed. When he was sure, he leaned over and licked along as much of the curl as he could reach and he felt Matthew shudder. "Gil….hnng." _Okay, this is too much fun._ Gilbert thought and he licked again before leaning further and sucking on the curl. "Gilbert!" Matthew gasped, opening his eyes. He looked around then spotted the East-German staring at him in awe.

"…Gil?" Matthew asked nervously.

"Hallo birdie." Gilbert said with a wink and Matthew began gaping like a fish.

"Wha…you…what? You're out." Gilbert nodded and leaned forward, kissing Matthew softly on the lips.

"I've missed doing that." Gilbert said, smirking against Matthew's lips. Matthew hummed in agreement and began to kiss back, and then he pulled back and glared at Gilbert.

"You lied to me." Matthew said simply but his eyes were filled with hurt.

"I did…kindof. I just, didn't tell you-"

"And you left me alone." Matthew interrupted Gilbert's rambling.

"I was arrested! It's not like I wanted-"

"And you keep weird porn under your bed." Matthew interrupted once more, this time with a smirk and Gilbert looked shocked, then embarrassed, then triumphant, and then mortified.

"You…you read my journals." Gilbert said in horror.

"And you touched my curl." Matthew responded, climbing over Gilbert and pushing him so he was lying down on the bed. "A lot." Matthew added with a glare and Gilbert grinned, memories of his journals forgotten as he felt something poking him in the stomach.

"What are you going to do about it?" Gilbert challenged with a wink and Matthew kissed Gilbert hard on the lips. Gilbert responded and the two began kissing frantically, tongues battling for dominance which Matthew eventually let Gilbert have. Gilbert ran his hands over his boyfriend's body and pulled Matthew's hoodie over his head, breaking the kiss. Matthew responded by removing Gilbert's t shirt and moving to kiss his ear. While Matthew was sucking on his earlobe, Gilbert ran his hands over the soft skin under the top Matthew wore under the hoodie. He ran his hands over Matthew's chest and pinched at one of his nipples. The sensation caused Matthew to gasp, releasing Gilbert's ear. Gilbert used this opportunity to pull Matthew's top over his head and he threw it away, not caring where it landed. The two began kissing fiercely once more, the sensation of skin-on-skin as their chests brushed against each other was scorching.

Soon this wasn't enough for Gilbert and he moved a hand down to rub at the bulge in Matthew's trousers. Matthew groaned lightly at the contact and Gilbert undid the trousers, sliding them down and off Matthew's long, soft legs. He moved back up to kiss Matthew and his hand began rubbing at the Canadian's length through his boxers. Matthew moaned softly into the kiss and nipped at Gilbert's bottom lip. Gilbert got the message and slid his hand down the front of Matthew's underwear. He ran his hands along Matthew's member a couple of times, stopping to play with the head, then he pulled his hand out to reach for the lube beside the bed. He pulled the bottle up to find it half empty, it had been a full bottle before he was arrested. He looked at Matthew, eyebrows raised. He was impressed, "What have you been doing birdie?" He said, his voice filled with aroused humour. Matthew just shrugged with an innocent expression.

To distract Gilbert, Matthew undid the silver-haired man's trousers and slid them down to his ankles where Gilbert kicked them off. The Canadian then kissed Gilbert's neck, then moved down his chest and abdomen until his nose brushed against the other's underwear. He then slid down Gilbert's boxers and stared at Gilbert's member, not really sure where to begin.

"Birdie you don't have to-" Gilbert's speech was cut off as a loud moan tore from his throat as Matthew sucked firmly on the head of Gilbert's erect cock. He then licked from base to tip and back again, earning another moan from the German. Then, Matthew started taking as much of Gilbert's length into his mouth as he could, using his hands to stroke the rest. Gilbert struggled to stop himself thrusting when Matthew began to suck and he gripped the headboard behind him and his knuckles went white.

Matthew started bobbing his head up and down and pleasure burnt at Gilbert from the inside. "Birdie…fuck Birdie. Ich liebe dich… ach, stop birdie, bitte or I'm gonna …" Matthew got the message, releasing Gilbert's member with a 'pop'. He brought himself up to eye level with the German and Gilbert began to kiss him slowly while his hands undid the cap on the lube. He squirted a generous amount onto his fingers and pulled off Matthew's boxers with the unlubed hand before reaching round to probe at the Canadian's entrance. Matthew wrapped his arms round Gilbert's neck and nuzzled the side of his face by his ear. It wasn't painful but the feeling was strange. It stung when Gilbert added the second finger and Matthew hugged him tighter, taking deep breaths. When the third finger was added, Matthew hissed and Gilbert leant back to kiss Matthew's cheek. When Matthew looked more relaxed, Gilbert started to thrust his fingers in and out of the man, trying to find his sweet spot. He knew when he'd found it because Matthew cried out something in French.

"I never knew French could be such a turn on." Gilbert groaned huskily, pulling his fingers and grabbing the small bottle of lubricant. He went to squirt some on his hands but Matthew took the bottle from him.

"I want to put it on you." Matthew whispered and a deep blush covered his cheeks. He squirted the lube onto his palms and rubbed it to warm it up. When he deemed it warm enough, he reached forward and rubbed it onto Gilbert's cock. Gilbert groaned at the sensation, his head tilting back a little. When it was sufficiently covered, Matthew lay back on the bed, pulling Gilbert over him. The German aligned his member with Matthew's entrance and slowly pushed inside.

Matthew hissed at the initial pain and when Gilbert was fully inside, he breathed deeply to calm himself down. "B-Bouger." Matthew muttered eventually and when he saw that Gilbert didn't understand, he shifted his hips to grind against the Germans.

Gilbert realised and slowly began thrusting, sweat dripping down his chest and abdomen as the pace began to increase and pleasure rippled between them. The both knew they wouldn't last long because of how long it had been since they were together and it was evidenced by the shameless moans that fell from both pairs of parted lips.

"Gil…jeûneur…fa-faster." Matthew panted out and Gilbert complied, Matthew's head tilted to the side and he started gasping Gilbert's name with every breath. A feeling of warmth built up in the pit of Matthew's stomach and before he could say anything, he reached his peak and came over his and Gilbert's chest. After a few more thrusts, Gilbert followed.

Gilbert pulled out and collapsed next to Matthew in exhaustion. They both lay beside each other, trying to catch their breath.

"Ich liebe dich birdie." Gilbert managed to say through breathless pants. Matthew grinned tiredly, his chest rising and falling rapidly with his own attempts to breathe.

"Ich…liebe…dich…auch." He replied with a wink and Gilbert stared dumbfounded.

"You said it right, you learnt German?" He said in surprise.

"Ja, a little." Matthew said with a small giggle. "I asked Ludwig to teach me some." Gilbert laughed and shuffled closer to Matthew and the Canadian snuggled against him, burying himself against the German's chest.

* * *

><p>"What, down here?" Matthew stirred slightly as he heard footsteps coming towards him.<p>

"Alfred, I wouldn't go down there if I were you!" Yelled a French voice. _Francis?_ He thought, his mind hazy with sleep.

"Mattie! You'll never guess wha-ARGH! MY EYES!" Screamed the American, turning around to face away and Matthew suddenly remembered he and Gilbert had fallen asleep together, naked. "NOT COOL BRO!" Alfred screamed and suddenly more footsteps were heard.

"Is everyone okay-oh! Onhonhon." A smug French accent laughed and Matthew nearly died of embarrassment, trying to wrestle the duvet from under himself and the still sleeping Gilbert while at the same time trying to cover himself with it.

"Hey, what's going on down here guys?" Called out a Spanish accent and then there were more footsteps. "Woah! Hey you were right Francis! Gilbert and Matthew had sex, just like you said!" Called out his overly happy voice. Matthew was still unable to cover himself properly and just about managed to cover his arse with a small part of the duvet.

"What is going on down there?" Called out a stern German accent and Matthew thought his face was going to melt. He attempted to both hide in Gilbert's chest and cover himself but both were failing. "What the- Bruder! Cover yourself!" That worked in waking Gilbert and the silver haired man sat up in alarm.

"What's going on? Why are you all in my bedroom?" He asked, not caring that everyone could now see his nether regions.

"Alfred, what is taking you so bloody long? Did you ask him yet?" Called out a British accent then Arthur entered the room. "What is everyone staring a-oh. Why is everyone staring at Matthew's arse?" He asked and Gilbert growled.

"Oi! Only I'm allowed to stare at Birdie's arse!" Matthew had tears of embarrassment running down his cheeks now.

"Gilbert, get off the covers." Matthew muttered dangerously and Gilbert jumped up, everyone except Francis turning away in embarrassment, and pulled the covers so they were on top of Matthew before climbing under them beside him. Pretending not to notice the death glare the Canadian was sending him. "This awesome body is covered now, sorry guys!" He called out and everyone let out a sigh of relief (except Francis).

Matthew looked to Alfred who had slowly turned to face him again. "What is it you wanted to tell me?" He asked quietly, not making eye-contact.

Suddenly remembering why he was there in the first place, Alfred grabbed Arthur's hand and looked to his brother. "Mattie, how do you feel…about being my best man?"

Matthew stared Alfred, confused. "Best man?" He asked and Alfred nodded, holding out his and Arthur's hands.

"I'm going to be Mr grumpy British guy!" He proclaimed proudly and Matthew looked to an embarrassed Arthur.

"Yes, sadly it's true. The bloody git asked me last night, it was a damn shock to me too." Arthur said with a small smile. Matthew stared between them and a grin spread on his face.

"Yeah, sure I'll be your best man, eh." He grinned and Alfred fist-pumped the air, bending down and grabbing Matthew in a tight hug, then pulling back quickly and turning away in horror.

"Dude! Put some clothes on!" He yelled and everyone laughed…except Matthew who hid under the covers completely, yelling "Get out!" to everyone.

_Why? …Just…just why?_

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><p><em><strong>And that is that.<strong>  
><em>

_**Soooooooooooooooooooo**_

_**How was das? *almost scared to ask***_

_**So, what I was saying before-**_

_**Yes this is technically finished BUT I might write up the USUK proposal/wedding and if I do I'll add it to the end of "the Date" **_

_**Just letting you know... **_

_**Ohdeargod.**_

_**I don't want to finish this AN cause then...then it's over...**_

_**Sure, I'll write other stuff...but... **_

_**Just want to say, I freaking love all of you. Seriously. Anyone who's read this far, even if you read just to see what happened. **_

_**Whether you reviewed or story alerted/favourited doesn't matter (even though I love them), the fact that you read this far is just...**_

_**You are all amazing.**_

_**And beautiful.**_

_**And perfect. **_

_**And just...**_

_**You're all sexy beasts, kay? AND DON'T YOU FORGET IT!**_

_**I am so tired XD But it was so worth it...right?**_

_****_**I want to reply to Anons but I'm so tired D: I just... I have read every single review and every one has made me smile, flail, feel exceptional and then proudly boast to all my friends (no word of a lie. Every time. Every. Single. Time.) **

**I really do love you all. **

**No homo! ) I kid. OF COURSE THERE'S HOMO! :D **

**I saw online the other day: "Behind every no homo there is a little bit of homo." Made me laugh my arse off xD**

**To the ninjas:**

**I'm sorry to do this collectively but my sister has been keeping me up with her panic attacks from 3 till 7 am while I sit and calm her down so I am exhausted. **

**I love you, I love you, thank you all!**

**Yes I will marry you, but you must cook me dinner first. If you cannot cook, you can order me chinese food. BUT NO MEAT! xD**

**((Can I just say, I am vegetarian and the other day my family went to Nando's... was awkward. I was like "I'll have the...uh...um...I'll have a coke." Then I ordered Churros))**

**You are all damn ninjas xD And yes, it was another man, twas kinda my reasoning for why Gil's mum was such a bitch xD**

**I apologise for making you cry!**

**I want this story to go on forever xD**

**Oh god the AN is coming to an end D:**

**I just...I want to apologise for the tears, thank you for the compliments. I should also write letters of apology to the families kept awake by fangirling at inappropriate times in the morning xD **

_**Ugh I just love you. All of you.**_

**__And if you like ever need someone to talk to, Oresama is here! I might take a while to reply, but I will help if you need me! **

**And...I just realised something.**

**You know OTL**

**I just found **

**Ore**

**Ore has an arse.**

**Wow.**

**~Oresama**


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